TY - JOUR PY - 2019// TI - Deployment-related traumatic brain injury and risk of new episodes of care for back pain in veterans JO - Journal of Pain A1 - Suri, Pradeep A1 - Stolzmann, Kelly A1 - Williams, Rhonda A1 - Pogoda, Terri K. SP - 97 EP - 107 VL - 20 IS - 1 N2 - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a predisposing factor to pain syndromes other than headache. We conducted a longitudinal cohort study among Veterans evaluated for TBI in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Among 36,880 Veterans at baseline, 55% reported back pain. TBI history was classified by trained clinicians according to VA-Department of Defense criteria. 14,223 Veterans without back pain were followed for up to 6 years for new (incident) episodes of VA care for back pain. We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs), adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), accounting for covariates. Deployment-related mild TBI was significantly associated with self-reported back pain in cross-sectional analyses (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.21-1.35), but not with incident episodes of VA care for back pain in longitudinal analysis (aHR 1.07, 95% CI 0.99-1.17). Deployment-related moderate/severe TBI was significantly associated with self-reported back pain in cross-sectional (aOR 1.74, 95% CI 1.58-1.91), and longitudinal analyses (aHR 1.20, 95% CI 1.05-1.38; p=.01). These findings indicate that deployment-related moderate/severe TBI confers increased back pain risk, but do not support a causal effect of deployment-related mild TBI on back pain. PERSPECTIVE: Findings from this longitudinal study of Veterans indicate that deployment-related moderate/severe TBI confers increased back pain risk, but do not support a causal effect of deployment-related mild TBI on back pain.

Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1526-5900 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2018.08.002 ID - ref1 ER -