Observational studyThe journal of pain2026
Applying an intersectional framework to characterize chronic pain disparities one year following traumatic spinal cord injury.
Observational study in The journal of pain, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Chronic pain affects nearly 70% of individuals following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and is frequently reported as a disabling and undertreated complication. While disparities in SCI recovery are well-documented, evidence in chronic pain remains limited, with prior studies involving smaller cohorts and evaluating isolated social determinants rather than their intersectional contributions. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the US Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems database, including 3514 adults with traumatic SCI. Exposures were race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black), annual income (<$25,000 vs ≥$25,000), and education (high school or less vs higher). Outcomes were pain severity (0-10 numeric rating) and pain interference (SF-12; severe[3-4] vs minimal/moderate[0-2]). Models adjusted for demographic and injury characteristics. Intersectional analyses quantified the combined effects of multiple social disadvantages, and causal mediation analyses estimated average causal mediation effects (ACME). Non-Hispanic Black, lower-income, and lower-education participants had higher pain severity and more frequent severe pain interference than their counterparts (all p<0.0001). Non-Hispanic Black participants, low-income, low-education participants had +2.43 points (95%CI 2.06-2.79) higher pain severity and 2.96-fold (95%CI 2.15-4.07) higher odds of severe pain interference than non-Hispanic White, higher-income, higher-education participants (q<0.0001). Mobility scores, days out-of-the-house, private health insurance, and perceived health status significantly mediated disparities in pain severity (ACME 0.158-0.312) and pain interference (ACME 0.017-0.043; all q<0.001). Chronic pain after traumatic SCI disproportionately affects socially disadvantaged groups. These findings highlight intersectional disparities and identify modifiable mediators as targets for interventions to reduce inequitable pain outcomes following traumatic SCI. PERSPECTIVE: This retrospective multicenter cohort study quantified intersectional disparities in chronic pain one year following spinal cord injury and characterized modifiable individual and structural mediators that account for these inequities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.