Authors
Volkman, Julie E.DeRycke, Eric C.
Driscoll, Mary A.
Becker, William C.
Brandt, Cynthia
Mattocks, Kristin M.
Haskell, Sally
Bathulapalli, Harini
Goulet, Joseph
Bastian, Lori A.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2015-09-01Keywords
PainSmoking
Tobacco
Veterans
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
Health Services Research
Pain Management
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Pain and smoking are highly prevalent among Veterans. Studies in non-Veteran populations have reported higher pain intensity among current smokers compared with nonsmokers and former smokers. We examined the association of smoking status with reported pain intensity among Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND). DESIGN: The sample consisted of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who had at least one visit to Veterans Affairs (2001-2012) with information in the electronic medical record for concurrent smoking status and pain intensity. The primary outcome measure was current pain intensity, categorized as none to mild (0-3); moderate (4-6); or severe ( > /=7); based on a self-reported 11-point pain numerical rating scale. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of current smoking status with moderate to severe ( > /=4) pain intensity, controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Overall, 50,988 women and 355,966 men Veterans were examined. The sample mean age was 30 years; 66.3% reported none to mild pain; 19.8% moderate pain; and 13.9% severe pain; 37% were current smokers and 16% former smokers. Results indicated that current smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 1.29 (95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.27-1.31)] and former smoking [OR = 1.02 (95% CI = 1.01-1.05)] were associated with moderate to severe pain intensity, controlling for age, service-connected disability, gender, obesity, substance abuse, mood disorders, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. CONCLUSIONS: We found an association between current smoking and pain intensity. This effect was attenuated in former smokers. Our study highlights the importance of understanding reported pain intensity in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who continue to smoke.Source
Pain Med. 2015 Sep;16(9):1690-6. doi: 10.1111/pme.12753. Epub 2015 Apr 27. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1111/pme.12753Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/30663PubMed ID
25917639Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/pme.12753