Predicting Opioid Use, Increased Health Care Utilization and High Costs for Musculoskeletal Pain: What Factors Mediate Pain Intensity and Disability?

ABSTRACT: This study determined the predictive capabilities of pain intensity and disability on health care utilization (number of condition-specific health care visits, incident, and chronic opioid use) and costs (total condition-specific and overall medical costs) in the year following an initial evaluation for musculoskeletal pain. We explored pain catastrophizing and spatial distribution of symptoms (ie, body diagram symptom score) as mediators of these relationships. Two hundred eighty-three military service members receiving initial care for a musculoskeletal injury completed a region-specific disability measure, numeric pain rating scale, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and body pain diagram. Pain intensity predicted all outcomes, while disability predicted incident opioid use only. No mediation

SUBMITTER: Lentz TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6908782 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan - Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature