Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Dyadic Relationships Between Canadian Armed Forces Members/Veterans with Chronic Pain and their Offspring

Tatiana Lund; Emily Bernier; Josep Roman-Juan; Daniel Kopala-Sibley; Sabine Soltani; Samantha Noyek; Cara Nania; Jaimie Beveridge; Tom Hoppe; Robert O'Connor; Christine O'Connor; Jessica Clemens; Richelle Mychasiuk; Gordon Asmundson; Jennifer Stinson; Melanie Noel

doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2024.03.012

Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Dyadic Relationships Between Canadian Armed Forces Members/Veterans with Chronic Pain and their Offspring

J Pain. 2024 Apr 3:S1526-5900(24)00436-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.03.012. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Tatiana Lund¹, Emily Bernier², Josep Roman-Juan³, Daniel Kopala-Sibley⁴, Sabine Soltani², Samantha Noyek², Cara Nania², Jaimie Beveridge², Tom Hoppe⁵, Robert O'Connor⁶, Christine O'Connor⁶, Jessica Clemens⁶, Richelle Mychasiuk⁷, Gordon Asmundson⁸, Jennifer Stinson⁹, Melanie Noel²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada. Electronic address: tclund@ucalgary.ca.
² Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada.
³ Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Unit for the Study and Treatment of Pain - ALGOS, Research Center for Behavior Assessment (CRAMC), Department of Psychology, Catalonia, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Catalonia, Spain.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Canada.
⁵ The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans. Electronic address: tclund@ucalgary.ca.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada; Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Unit for the Study and Treatment of Pain - ALGOS, Research Center for Behavior Assessment (CRAMC), Department of Psychology, Catalonia, Spain; Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Catalonia, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Canada; The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans; Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Australia; Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Canada; The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada.
⁷ Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Australia.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Canada.
⁹ The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada.

PMID: 38580101
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.03.012

Abstract

Chronic pain and mental health issues occur at higher rates in Veterans than the general population. One widely recognized mental health issue faced by Veterans is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma symptoms and pain frequently co-occur and are mutually maintained due to shared mechanisms. Many Veterans are also parents. Parental physical and mental health issues significantly predict children's chronic pain and related functioning, which can continue into adulthood. Only one US-based study has examined pain in the offspring of Veterans, suggesting heightened risk for pain. Research to date has not examined the associations between trauma and pain, and the dyadic influences of these symptoms, among Veterans and their children. The current study aimed to describe pain characteristics in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Members/Veterans with chronic pain and their offspring (youth and adult children aged 9-38). Cross-lagged Panel Models (CLPM) were conducted to examine dyadic relationships between pain interference and trauma symptoms of CAF Members/Veterans and their offspring. Over half of adult offspring and over one quarter of youth offspring reported chronic pain. Results revealed effects between one's own symptoms of PTSD and pain interference. No significant effects of parents on offspring or offspring on parents were found. The findings highlight the interconnection between pain and PTSD consistent with mutual maintenance models, and a lack of significant interpersonal findings suggestive of resiliency in this unique population. PERSPECTIVE: We characterized chronic pain in offspring of Canadian Armed Forces Members/Veterans with chronic pain and examined dyadic relationships between PTSD symptoms and chronic pain interference. Findings revealed that PTSD symptoms and pain interference were related within Veterans and offspring, but no dyadic relationships were found, which could reflect resiliency.

Keywords: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Veterans; chronic pain; military; offspring.