PainRelief.com: Why was it important to look at the prevalence of chronic pain in both women exposed to combat and civilian women with spouses in combat (rather than solely focusing on those in combat)?
Response: We believe that there would be inimical effects from the stressors of deployment that would impact women civilian dependents as well. This is underrecognized aspect of the impact of deployment schedules that the Military Health System needs to recognize. We were actually surprised by the magnitude of effect that the 2006-11 time period had on the incidence of chronic pain in women civilian dependents.
PainRelief.com: What are the implications of socioeconomic status being associated with chronic pain?
Response: Numerous intersecting factors have been thought to drive the development of chronic pain after combat exposure. The role that SES plays in this context may include issues with coping strategies and attitudes toward the use of medical services as well as behavioral health services that has been shown in other contexts.
PainRelief.com: What surprised you about these findings?
Response: The most surprising finding was the magnitude of effect that the deployment tempo of 2006-13 had on women civilian dependents. They displayed among the highest odds for developing a chronic pain condition. This is something that has previously gone unrecognized in the past.
PainRelief.com: What limitations are important for us to take note of?
Response: The use of claims based data is an important limitation as is the inability to understand the circumstances and symptoms that culminated in the diagnosis of a chronic pain condition.
PainRelief.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: We are currently engaged in research evaluating how sustained prescription opioid use differed among those active-duty servicewomen and civilian dependents with chronic pain. Further, we want to conduct a prospective observations study in the future, looking at the long-term ramifications of military deployments including the development of chronic pain.
Citation: Schoenfeld AJ, Cirillo MN, Gong J, et al. Development of Chronic Pain Conditions Among Women in the Military Health System. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(7):e2420393. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.20393
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Last Updated on July 7, 2024 by PainRelief.com