Effect of Mental and Behavioral Factors on Severity of Disability following Whiplash Injury

Chronic pain and disability after whiplash injury is common and causes considerable social and financial costs. Predicting the factors contributing to disability in whiplash injury can facilitate rapid intervention.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mental and behavioral factors on severity of whiplash injury disability two years after the primary insult.

In this analytic cross-sectional study, chronic complications of whiplash injury in patients were evaluated two years after the insult. Participants were categorized into three groups based on neck disability index scores at 2 years after the injury. Intergroup differences were analyzed and investigated with previous inconsistencies. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

A total number of 81 patients were investigated in our study. Patients were categorized into the "recovered", "mild pain and disability" and "moderate/severe pain and disability" groups. There was no statistically significant relationship between three groups regarding the treatment method. Our results showed a statistically significant difference between the personality type and severity of disability (P = 0.031). The Beck depression score was not significantly different between the three disability groups.

Type B personality and primary presence of moderate stress symptoms after trauma can predict strongly the poor outcome at 2 years after injury. These factors should be evaluated in people with acute whiplash injury. Appropriate treatment based on these factors may help to reduce chronicity and related complications.