219570 Analysis of MEPS data to discern the chronicity of back pain in young people

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 3:24 PM - 3:42 PM

Monica Smith, DC, PhD , Adjunct Faculty -- Off-site, National University Health Sciences, San Rafael, CA
Intro: Medical Expenditures Panels Survey (MEPS) data largely have reported only cross-sectional or time-trend analyses of prevalence or health service use for back pain. Pooled MEPS longitudinal files have added utility for studying small population subgroups (e.g. children), and for examining patterns of utilization or pain over time. Data/Methods: Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) data pooled across MEPS 2-year Longitudinal Panels 5-through-10 (MEPS Survey Years 2000-2006). Of the total pooled cohort of MEPS respondents with backpain (N=10,753), 6.7% were youth age 7-20 (n=718). This session will present a detailed report of a methodological protocol for discerning the chronicity of back pain in longitudinal MEPS All-5-Rounds data, using Round-by-Round pattern mapping to generically operationalize “episodes-of-pain” and “episodes-of-care”. Results: Of 718 youth (age 7-20) with back pain, 75% reported backpain in only a single MEPS round, 19% in 2 or more consecutive rounds (chronic continuous backpain) and 6% during intermittent rounds (recurrent episodic backpain). Of the 718 youth, 549 used ambulatory health services for backpain, and for 89% of those 549 (n=486) their back pain “episodes-of-pain” patterns were consistent with their “episodes-of-care” patterns. Discussion: Large-scale population-based survey data such as MEPS can be pooled across years and panels, in order to increase sample sizes and cell sizes for conducting focused analyses of small population groups such as children with back pain, subgrouped by chronicity. A companion presentation in this session (Ward&Smith) will further discuss the challenges of subgrouping (e.g. by race, gender) for robust multivariate modeling of such data.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate a Method for identifying back pain episodes, and back pain chronicity, in population-based studies such as MEPS. Discuss the use of MEPS for discerning chronic back pain in subgroups such as children.

Keywords: Survey, Child/Adolescent

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I conducted the study and I am responsible for all aspects of this project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.