Background. Distal radius fractures are the most common fracture of the upper extremity and cause variable disability. This study examined the role of social support in patient-reported pain and disability at one year following distal radius fracture. Methods. The Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey was administered to a prospective cohort of 291 subjects with distal radius fractures at their baseline visit. Pearson correlations and stepwise linear regression models ( -to-remove 0.10) were used to identify whether social support contributes to wrist fracture outcomes. The primary outcome of pain and disability at one year was measured using the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation. Results. Most injuries were low energy (67.5%) and were treated nonoperatively (71.9%). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that higher reported social support correlated with improved Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores at 1 year, , . Of the subscales within the Social Support Survey, emotional/informational support explained a significant proportion of the variance in 1-year Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores, , (1, 181) = 9.98, . Conclusion. Lower emotional/informational social support at the time of distal radius fracture contributes a small but significant percentage to patient-reported pain and disability outcomes. 1. Introduction Distal radius fractures (DRF) are the most common type of acute wrist trauma [1–3]. Despite being common, predicting a patient’s outcome following DRF remains challenging. Fracture management, whether non-operative or operative, is directed at restoring anatomical alignment and function [3, 4]. Interestingly, an acceptable anatomical result does not always correlate with improved patient outcomes in residual pain and disability, particularly in older patients [5–7]. The advent of a biopsychosocial model of health and disease [8] has led to the emergence of instruments, such as the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE), which measure DRF outcome in terms of pain and disability [9]. The understanding of the contributions of both biological and psychosocial factors has improved the surgeon’s ability to predict fracture outcomes. Baseline characteristics such as pre reduction radial shortening, education, injury compensation, and the presence of other medical comorbidities have been shown to predict patient-reported pain and disability 1-year following DRF [7, 10]. Unfortunately, these variables are not modifiable by hand surgery or rehabilitation interventions. Therefore, they can be used to develop a prognosis but not to affect the
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