Prevalence of Painful Musculoskeletal Conditions in Female and Male Veterans in 7 Years After Return From Deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom
Abstract
BACKGROUND: We sought to describe sex differences in the prevalence of painful musculoskeletal conditions in men and women Veterans after deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) (OEF-OIF). METHODS: This is an observational study using Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative and clinical databases of OEF-OIF Veterans who had enrolled in and used VA care. The prevalence of back problems, musculoskeletal conditions, and joint disorders was determined at years 1 through 7 after deployment for female and male Veterans using ICD-9 code groupings for these conditions. RESULTS: Female Veterans were younger (mean age 29 vs. 30, P<0.0001), more likely to be African American (26% vs. 13%, P<0.0001), and less likely to be married (34% vs. 47%, P<0.0001). For both female and male Veterans, the prevalence of painful musculoskeletal conditions increased each year after deployment. After adjustment for significant demographic differences, women were more likely than men to have back problems [year 1 odds ratio (OR) 1.06 (1.01, 1.11)], musculoskeletal problems [year 1 OR 1.32 (1.24, 1.40)], and joint problems [year 1 OR 1.36 (1.21, 1.53)] and the odds of having these conditions increased each year for women compared with men in years 1 to 7 after deployment. DISCUSSION: To provide quality care to female Veterans, the VA must understand the impact of deployment on women's health. Our findings provide an important picture of the increasing prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions in the female Veteran population and highlight the importance of the VA targeting treatment programs that focus on issues of particular importance to women with musculoskeletal pain.
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Chronic pain is widely prevalent among Veterans and can have serious negative consequences for functional status and quality of life.
“Chronic pain is widely prevalent among Veterans and can have serious negative consequences for an individual ' s functional status and quality of life.”
From A Research Agenda for Advancing Non-pharmacological Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Findings from a VHA State-of-the-art Conference (2018) · cites this paper as [1]
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- Authors
- Haskell, S. G., Ning, Y., Krebs, E., Goulet, J., Mattocks, K., Kerns, R., & Brandt, C.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Regenstrief Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Haskell, Sally G.
- Ning, Yuming
- Goulet, Joseph
- Mattocks, Kristin
- Kerns, Robert
- Brandt, Cynthia
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Clinical Journal of Pain
- Published
- 2012-02
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 163-167
- ISSN
- 0749-8047 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1998943726
- Cited by
- 137
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 22.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Journal of Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship@UMassChan (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (I01 HX000915)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Performance
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Social Sciences › Education › Education and Military Integration
- Keywords
- musculoskeletal pain, women veterans, sex differences, post-deployment health, Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraq War, back problems, joint diseases, prevalence, military deployment, veterans' health care
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Risk Factors, United States, Veterans, Prevalence, Sex Distribution, Risk Assessment, Arthralgia, Iraq War, 2003-2011, Afghan Campaign 2001-
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