Blake Hall
According to a new study conducted by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and captained by the head epidemiologist at the National Center For Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), United States military veterans “experience higher prevalence of pain and more severe pain than nonveterans.” The analysis also concluded that young and middle-aged vets “suffer the most.”
Surprisingly, it’s the first study of its kind.
Many in the veteran assistance community hope the findings will act as a major boon in the fight to deliver every current and former service member the resources they need to live a full, healthy life.
“Our analysis showed that veterans were about 40 percent more likely to experience severe pain than nonveterans,” said Richard L. Nahin, Ph.D., and one of the authors of the study. “As well, young veterans were substantially more likely to report suffering from severe pain than nonveterans, even after controlling for underlying demographic characteristics. These findings suggest that more attention should be paid to helping veterans manage the impact of severe pain and related disability on daily activities.”
The study surveyed 6,647 vets and 61,049 nonveterans. A little over 92 percent of the vets questioned were men, while the nonveterans were predominantly women (56.5 percent). It didn’t take into account combat roles.
This from the National Institutes of Health website (NIH):
“These findings show that we still have much more to do to help our veterans who are suffering from pain,” said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of NCCIH. “This new knowledge can help inform effective health care strategies for veterans of all ages. More research is needed to generate additional evidence-based options for veterans managing pain. Over time this research may help nonveterans as well.”
NCCIH is partnering with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense on 13 grants to research military and veteran health with a focus on nonpharmacological approaches to pain and related conditions.
Here’s a visual done by the agency displaying the above findings:
