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Seventeen-Year National Pain Prevalence Trends Among U.S. Military Veterans.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Taylor, KA; Kapos, FP; Sharpe, JA; Kosinski, AS; Rhon, DI; Goode, AP
Published in: J Pain
May 2024

U.S. military veterans experience higher pain prevalence than nonveterans. However, it is unclear how the disparities in pain prevalence have changed over time because previous trend studies are limited to veterans using the Veterans Health Administration. This repeated cross-sectional study aimed to characterize pain prevalence trends in the overall population of U.S. veterans compared to nonveterans, using nationally representative data. We analyzed 17 years of data from the National Health Interview Survey (2002-2018), with a mean annual unweighted sample of 29,802 U.S. adults (total unweighted n = 506,639) and mean annual weighted population of 229.7 million noninstitutionalized adults. The weighted proportion of veterans ranged from 11.48% in 2002 (highest) to 8.41% in 2017 (lowest). We found that veterans experience a similar or higher prevalence of pain than nonveterans across the study period, except for severe headaches or migraine and facial pain. Pain prevalence among veterans increased over time, with a higher rate of increase compared to nonveterans for all pain variables. From 2002 to 2018, there was an absolute increase (95% confidence interval) in pain prevalence among veterans (severe headache or migraine: 2.0% [1.6-2.4%]; facial pain: 1.9% [1.4-2.4%]; neck pain: 4.7% [4.1-5.2%]; joint pain: 11.4% [10.8-11.9%]; low back pain: 10.3% [9.5-11.1%]; any pain: 10.0% [9.6-10.4%]; and multiple pains: 9.9% [9.2-10.6%]). The continued pain prevalence increase among veterans may have implications for health care utilization, highlighting the need for improved pain prevention and care programs for this population with a disproportionate pain burden. PERSPECTIVE: This article uses routinely-collected cross-sectional data that are nationally representative of U.S. adults to present changes in pain prevalence among military veterans compared to nonveterans. The findings underscore the need for improved prevention and pain care programs for veterans, who experienced a widening disproportionate pain burden from 2002 to 2018.

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Published In

J Pain

DOI

EISSN

1528-8447

Publication Date

May 2024

Volume

25

Issue

5

Start / End Page

104420

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Veterans
  • United States
  • Prevalence
  • Pain
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Surveys
  • Female
 

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Taylor, K. A., Kapos, F. P., Sharpe, J. A., Kosinski, A. S., Rhon, D. I., & Goode, A. P. (2024). Seventeen-Year National Pain Prevalence Trends Among U.S. Military Veterans. J Pain, 25(5), 104420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2023.11.003
Taylor, Kenneth Adam, Flavia Penteado Kapos, Jason Arthur Sharpe, Andrzej Stanislaw Kosinski, Daniel I. Rhon, and Adam Payne Goode. “Seventeen-Year National Pain Prevalence Trends Among U.S. Military Veterans.J Pain 25, no. 5 (May 2024): 104420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2023.11.003.
Taylor KA, Kapos FP, Sharpe JA, Kosinski AS, Rhon DI, Goode AP. Seventeen-Year National Pain Prevalence Trends Among U.S. Military Veterans. J Pain. 2024 May;25(5):104420.
Taylor, Kenneth Adam, et al. “Seventeen-Year National Pain Prevalence Trends Among U.S. Military Veterans.J Pain, vol. 25, no. 5, May 2024, p. 104420. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2023.11.003.
Taylor KA, Kapos FP, Sharpe JA, Kosinski AS, Rhon DI, Goode AP. Seventeen-Year National Pain Prevalence Trends Among U.S. Military Veterans. J Pain. 2024 May;25(5):104420.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Pain

DOI

EISSN

1528-8447

Publication Date

May 2024

Volume

25

Issue

5

Start / End Page

104420

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Veterans
  • United States
  • Prevalence
  • Pain
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Surveys
  • Female