STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study of 135 subjects with whiplash injury. OBJECTIVES: To identify factors predictive of prolonged disability following whiplash injury. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Although subjects with whiplash associated disorders lack demonstrable physical injury, many exhibit prolonged disability. Disability appears unrelated to the severity of the collision. METHODS: 147 subjects with recent whiplash injury were interviewed for putative risk factors for disability. 135 were re-interviewed 12 months later to assess degree of duration of disability. Bi-variate and multi-variate analyses were undertaken to measure the association between putative risk factors and measures of outcome. RESULTS: The bodily pain score and role emotional scores of the SF-36 health questionnaire showed a consistent significant positive association with better outcomes. After adjustment for bodily pain score and role emotional scores, consulting a lawyer was associated with less improvement in NPOS (p<
0.01) after one year, but there was no significant association with rate of return to work. The degree of damage to the vehicle was not a predictor of outcome. CONCLUSIONS: SF-36 scores for bodily pain and role emotional are useful means of identifying subjects at risk of prolonged disability. The findings support the implementation of an insurance system designed to minimise litigation.
