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Are there gender differences in coping with neck pain following acute whiplash trauma? A 12‐month follow‐up study
Author(s) -
Carstensen T.B.W.,
Frostholm L.,
Oernboel E.,
Kongsted A.,
Kasch H.,
Jensen T.S.,
Fink P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1016/j.ejpain.2011.06.002
Subject(s) - neck pain , whiplash , coping (psychology) , medicine , pain catastrophizing , distress , physical therapy , demographics , odds ratio , odds , injury prevention , psychological distress , poison control , chronic pain , clinical psychology , psychiatry , anxiety , logistic regression , demography , medical emergency , alternative medicine , pathology , sociology
Background Little is known about gender differences in coping after whiplash, and to date possible interaction of gender and coping on recovery has not been investigated. Aims To examine if gender differences in coping are associated with long‐lasting neck pain after acute whiplash. Seven hundred and forty participants referred from emergency departments or general practitioners after car accidents in D enmark. Within a median of five days, post‐collision participants completed questionnaires on collision characteristics, psychological distress, and socio‐demographics. After 3 months they completed the C oping S trategies Q uestionnaire, and after 12 months a VAS scale on neck pain intensity. Results The odds for long‐lasting neck pain were more than twice as high for women than for men ( OR = 2.17 (95% CI : 1.40; 3.37). However, no gender difference in coping and no interaction between gender and the five coping subscales on neck pain after 12 months were found. ‘ D istraction’ increased the odds for considerable neck pain for both men and women ( OR = 1.03 (95% CI : 1.01; 1.05), ‘reinterpreting’ ( OR = 1.03 (95% CI : 1.01; 1.06), ‘catastrophizing’ ( OR = 1.14 (95% CI : 1.10; 1.18), and ‘praying and hoping’ ( OR = 1.10 (95% CI : 1.05; 1.13) for each point on these scales. Conclusions No interaction between coping and gender on neck pain was found, thus different coping strategies 3 months post‐collision did not explain the different prognosis observed in men and women. Clinically relevant influence of ‘catastrophizing’ and ‘praying and hoping’ to prognosis was found, therefore we should identify patients predominantly using these strategies.