• Michael J L Sullivan, Erin Hall, Rosita Bartolacci, Maureen E Sullivan, and Heather Adams.
• Dalhousie University Pain Research Centre, Halifax, Canada. sully@is.dal.ca
• Pain Res Manag. 2002 Jan 1; 7 (3): 120-6.

ObjectivesTo describe the pattern of perceived cognitive deficits in patients with whiplash injury, to examine the relation between perceived cognitive deficits and disability, and to examine the determinants of perceived cognitive deficits in patients with whiplash injury.ParticipantsA total of 81 individuals participated in the study. There were 29 patients (13 men, 16 women) with a diagnosis of whiplash, grade I or II. Patients with work-related soft-tissue injuries (n=24) and nonclinical controls (n=28) were included as comparison groups.MethodsParticipants completed measures of perceived cognitive deficits, pain severity, depression, anxiety and pain-related disability.ResultsBoth patient groups scored significantly higher than the nonpatient control group on the measure of perceived cognitive deficits, but did not differ significantly from each other. Perceptions of cognitive deficits were significantly correlated with pain-related disability. A hierarchical regression examining the relative contribution of anxiety, depression and pain showed that only anxiety and depression contributed significant unique variance to the prediction of perceived cognitive deficits.DiscussionThe potential benefits of focusing interventions on the management of anxiety and depression in the rehabilitation of patients with whiplash injuries are discussed.

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