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Hadlandsmyth K, Zhuang C, Driscoll MA, Lund BC. Comorbid Chronic Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Current Rates and Psychiatric Comorbidities Among U.S. Military Veterans. Mil Med 2024:usae313. [PMID: 38869274 DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usae313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This study reports rates of comorbid chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. military veterans and rates of psychiatric comorbidities among those with both chronic pain and PTSD. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study utilized National Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data to identify all veterans treated for chronic pain or PTSD in 2023. Multivariable logistic regression models determined the likelihood of each psychiatric comorbidity for those with chronic pain and PTSD relative to those with chronic pain only and separately to those with PTSD only, after adjusting for demographic variables and all other psychiatric comorbidities. RESULTS Of the 5,846,453 service users of the VA in 2023, a total of 2,091,391 (35.8%) met the criteria for chronic pain and 850,191 (14.5%) met the criteria for PTSD. Furthermore, 21.6% of those with chronic pain also had PTSD and over half (53.2%) of those with PTSD also met the criteria for chronic pain (n = 452,113). Veterans with chronic pain and PTSD were significantly more likely to be women, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latina, and urban dwelling. Veterans with chronic pain and PTSD had significantly higher rates of all selected comorbidities relative to veterans with chronic pain only. CONCLUSIONS Patients with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD may benefit from tailored treatments to address the additive impact of these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Hadlandsmyth
- VA Office of Rural Health (ORH), Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Iowa City, Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Caywin Zhuang
- Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Mary A Driscoll
- Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities, and Education (PRIME) Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Brian C Lund
- VA Office of Rural Health (ORH), Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Iowa City, Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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Bernardy NC, Cuccurullo LAJ, Montano M, Bowen M, Breen K, Matteo R, Cole B. Implementation strategies to improve posttraumatic stress disorder care in rural veterans. J Rural Health 2024; 40:411-418. [PMID: 37596917 DOI: 10.1111/jrh.12790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Prior research has noted treatment inequalities in the care of rural veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This project sought to increase the delivery, or reach, of recommended PTSD treatments in 2 rural health care systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) using implementation facilitation. METHODS The quality improvement project involved 6 months of facilitation to 2 low-reach PTSD clinics within 2 VA health care systems. The clinics were matched to a control clinic at another regional system similar in reach, rurality, and patient volume. We compared the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for PTSD at 3 timepoints: baseline, 6 months, and 1 year using difference-in-difference effect estimation. Facilitators and barriers of EBP reach were identified through interviews with clinic staff and informed specific implementation plans. We also measured reductions in benzodiazepine prescriptions and polypharmacy to determine the impact of an academic detailing intervention aimed at improving PTSD prescribing practices at the 2 sites. FINDINGS EBP reach at 6 months more than doubled in the 2 PTSD clinics that received facilitation, while our control clinic experienced a decrease in EBP reach (DID = 24.6; SE = 6.71%). Both intervention clinics identified similar administrative barriers to the delivery of EBPs, offering useful information for improvement at other rural clinics. The use of academic detailing as part of our facilitation intervention further appears to have positively impacted care. CONCLUSIONS In this preliminary work, facilitation is a promising strategy for increasing the delivery of PTSD EBPs to veterans seen in under-resourced rural VA clinics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy C Bernardy
- White River Junction VA Medical Center Research Department, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
- National Center for PTSD, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Lisa-Ann J Cuccurullo
- National Center for PTSD, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
| | - Macgregor Montano
- National Center for PTSD, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
| | | | - Kristen Breen
- National Center for PTSD, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
| | - Rebecca Matteo
- National Center for PTSD, White River Junction VA Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont, USA
| | - Bernard Cole
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
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Pratt AA, Hadlandsmyth K, Mengeling MA, Thomas EBK, Miell K, Norman SB, Lund BC. The Impact of Comorbid Chronic Pain on Pharmacotherapy for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. J Clin Med 2023; 12:4763. [PMID: 37510878 PMCID: PMC10380889 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12144763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Chronic pain can worsen PTSD symptomatology and may increase the risk of the prescription of multiple central nervous system (CNS)-active medications. The objective is to determine the impact of chronic pain on the number of CNS medications, including psychiatric medications, as well as the amount of medication changes. METHODS Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data were used to identify VA-served Veterans with PTSD (N = 637,428) who had chronic pain (50.3%) and did not have chronic pain (49.7%) in 2020. The outcomes included the number of changes in psychiatric medications and the number of currently prescribed CNS-active mediations during a one-year observation period. RESULTS The number of changes in psychiatric medications was significantly higher for those with chronic pain (mean (M) = 1.8) versus those without chronic pain (M = 1.6) (Z = 38.4, p < 0.001). The mean number of concurrent CNS-active medications were significantly higher for those with chronic pain (M = 2.7) versus those without chronic pain (M = 2.0) (Z = 179.7, p < 0.001). These differences persisted after adjustment for confounding factors using negative binomial regression. CONCLUSIONS Veterans with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD are at increased risk for a higher number of medication changes and for receiving CNS-active polytherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra A Pratt
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Building 42, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Katherine Hadlandsmyth
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Building 42, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- VA Office of Rural Health (ORH), Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Iowa City (VRHRC-IC), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Michelle A Mengeling
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Building 42, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- VA Office of Rural Health (ORH), Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Iowa City (VRHRC-IC), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Emily B K Thomas
- VA Office of Rural Health (ORH), Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Iowa City (VRHRC-IC), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 340 Iowa Ave, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Kelly Miell
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Building 42, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
| | - Sonya B Norman
- National Center for PTSD, 215 North Main Street, White River Junction, VT 05009, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Brian C Lund
- Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Building 42, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- VA Office of Rural Health (ORH), Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Iowa City (VRHRC-IC), Iowa City VA Health Care System, 601 Highway 6 West, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Iowa College of Public Health, 145 N Riverside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
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Hadlandsmyth K, Bernardy NC, Lund BC. Gender differences in medication prescribing patterns for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A 10-year follow-up study. J Trauma Stress 2022; 35:1586-1597. [PMID: 35797242 DOI: 10.1002/jts.22861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Women veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have historically received more psychiatric medications than men. The current analysis identified prescribing trends of medications recommended for (i.e., select antidepressants) and against (i.e., benzodiazepines, select antidepressants, antipsychotics, and select anticonvulsants) use in PTSD treatment among women and men in 2010-2019. All veterans receiving care for PTSD in 2019 were identified using national U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data. Multivariable logistic regression analyses, adjusted for demographic characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities, were used to contrast the likelihood of receiving a medication class across genders. Sensitivity analyses using identical selection methods were conducted for the calendar years 2010, 2013, and 2016. In 2019, 877,785 veterans received treatment for PTSD within the VA, 13.5% of whom were women. Across medication classes and years, women were more likely to receive all psychiatric medications of interest. Relative to men, women were slightly more likely to receive antidepressants recommended for PTSD in 2019, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.07, 95% CI [1.06, 1.09]. However, gender differences for medications recommended against use for PTSD were notably larger, including benzodiazepines, aOR = 1.62, 95% CI [1.59, 1.65]; anticonvulsants. aOR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.38, 1.44]; and antidepressants recommended against use for PTSD, aOR = 1.26, 95% CI [1.19, 1.33]. To inform tailored intervention strategies, future work is needed to fully understand why women receive more medications recommended against use for PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Hadlandsmyth
- Office of Rural Health, Veterans Rural Health Resource Center, Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.,Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.,Department of Anesthesia, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Nancy C Bernardy
- White River Junction VA Medical Center Research Department, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.,National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Brian C Lund
- Office of Rural Health, Veterans Rural Health Resource Center, Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.,Center for Comprehensive Access and Delivery Research and Evaluation (CADRE), Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
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