Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Comorbid Chronic Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Current Rates and Psychiatric Comorbidities Among U.S. Military Veterans.

Hadlandsmyth K, Zhuang C, Driscoll MA, Lund BC. Comorbid Chronic Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Current Rates and Psychiatric Comorbidities Among U.S. Military Veterans. Military medicine. 2024 Jun 13.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: This study reports rates of comorbid chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. military veterans and rates of psychiatric comorbidities among those with both chronic pain and PTSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study utilized National Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data to identify all veterans treated for chronic pain or PTSD in 2023. Multivariable logistic regression models determined the likelihood of each psychiatric comorbidity for those with chronic pain and PTSD relative to those with chronic pain only and separately to those with PTSD only, after adjusting for demographic variables and all other psychiatric comorbidities. RESULTS: Of the 5,846,453 service users of the VA in 2023, a total of 2,091,391 (35.8%) met the criteria for chronic pain and 850,191 (14.5%) met the criteria for PTSD. Furthermore, 21.6% of those with chronic pain also had PTSD and over half (53.2%) of those with PTSD also met the criteria for chronic pain (n? = 452,113). Veterans with chronic pain and PTSD were significantly more likely to be women, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latina, and urban dwelling. Veterans with chronic pain and PTSD had significantly higher rates of all selected comorbidities relative to veterans with chronic pain only. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD may benefit from tailored treatments to address the additive impact of these conditions.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.