RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 One Year After Mild Injury: Comparison of Health Status and Quality of Life Between Patients with Whiplash Versus Other Injuries JF The Journal of Rheumatology JO J Rheumatol FD The Journal of Rheumatology SP jrheum.130406 DO 10.3899/jrheum.130406 A1 Martine Hours A1 Inès Khati A1 Pierrette Charnay A1 Laetitia Chossegros A1 Hélène Tardy A1 Charlène Tournier A1 Anne-Laure Perrine A1 Jacques Luauté A1 Bernard Laumon YR 2013 UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2013/12/12/jrheum.130406.abstract AB Objective To compare health status, effect on family, occupational consequences, and quality of life (QOL) 1 year after an accident between patients with whiplash versus other mild injuries, and to explore the relationship between initial injury (whiplash vs other) and QOL. Methods This was a prospective cohort study. The study used data from the ESPARR cohort (a representative cohort of road accident victims) and included 173 individuals with “pure” whiplash and 207 with other mild injuries. QOL at 1-year followup was assessed on the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire. Correlations between explanatory variables and QOL were explored by Poisson regression to provide adjusted relative risks, with ANOVA for the various QOL scores explored. Results One year post-accident, more patients who had whiplash than other casualties complained of nonrecovery of health status (56% vs 43%) and of the occupational effect of pain (31% vs 23%). QOL and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were similar in the 2 groups. Impaired QOL did not correlate with whiplash when models were adjusted on sociodemographic variables and history of psychological distress. Whatever the initial lesion, PTSD was a determining factor for poorer QOL. Conclusion Sociodemographic factors, preaccident psychological history prior to the accident, and PTSD were the main factors influencing QOL, rather than whether the injury was whiplash. PTSD may also be related to pain.