Abstract
Introduction.The main aims of the present study were: (1) to compare aspects of disability (activity preferences and sick leave) and perceived global situation (life satisfaction) in a patient group with chronic whiplash associated disorders (WAD group; N = 32) with a healthy group of subjects (without neck or shoulder pain) randomly recruited from the official census lists (C group; N = 55), (2) to investigate whether the WAD group has a general hyper vigilance with respect to symptoms and (3) to analyse whether symptoms, signs or activity preferences influence aspects of life satisfaction in the WAD group. Methods.All subjects answered a questionnaire that asked them to disclose their symptoms, activity preferences, sick leave, and satisfaction with life. In addition, all subjects underwent a physical examination. Results.Significantly lower levels of activity preferences were noted for 3 out of 5 indices in the WAD group for females. Satisfaction with life as a whole, physical and psychological health was significantly lower in the WAD group. The WAD group had significantly higher prevalence of several neuropsychological and emotional symptoms, but no general hyper vigilance with respect to all symptoms was noted. Both pain related symptoms and neuropsychological symptoms were of significant importance for aspects of disability and life satisfaction in the WAD group. Conclusions.The present study showed that chronic WAD was associ ated with marked negative consequences with respect to the activity prefer ences and the perceived global situation.