CHRONIC PAIN AND SUICIDALITY
Pain. 2001 Jan;89(2-3):199-206.
Suicidal intent in patients with
chronic pain.
Fisher BJ, Haythornthwaite
JA, Heinberg LJ,
Department of Psychiatry,
Suicidal ideation among individuals
suffering from chronically painful conditions has not been widely studied,
although rates of completed suicide are believed to be elevated in this
population relative to the general population. The psychiatric literature on
suicide documents the importance of controlling for the severity of depression
when studying factors associated with suicidal ideation, attempts, or
completion. The present study examined the relationships between suicidal
ideation and the experience of pain, pain-related disability, and pain coping
efforts among a sample of individuals experiencing chronically painful
conditions. Of 200 patients evaluated on an inpatient rehabilitation unit in a
psychiatric service, 13 individuals (6.5%) reported suicidal intent on a
commonly used self-report measure of symptoms of depression, the Beck
Depression Inventory. This group was compared to a matched (age, sex, pain
duration) group of similarly depressed individuals (N=13) and a matched group
of non-depressed individuals (N=13) on measures of pain, disability, pain
beliefs, and pain coping strategies. A history of a suicide attempt was
associated with suicidal intent. Family history of substance abuse was
significantly more prevalent among the depressed groups, regardless of suicidal
thinking. The depressed/suicidal group and depressed/non-suicidal
groups reported higher levels of pain, higher levels of pain-related
disability, lower use of active coping, and higher use of passive coping
compared to the non-depressed group. The depressed groups did not
differ from one another on any of the measures of pain experience. Depression,
not suicidal status, consistently predicted level of functioning. The
prevalence of suicidal intent was comparable to rates observed in other studies
and relatively low. When individuals with chronic pain report suicidal
intent, it is imperative that measures preventing self-harm be implemented
immediately and the patient's depression be treated aggressively.
Semin Clin Neuropsychiatry. 1999 Jul;4(3):221-7.
The association of chronic pain
and suicide.
Fishbain DA.
University of Miami School of Medicine, South Shore
Hospital, Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA.
Chronic pain patients (CPPs) are at greater risk for depression than the general
population. As such, one would expect suicidal ideation,
suicide attempts, and suicide completions to be commonly found within chronic
pain (CP) populations. To explore these issues, 18 studies relating to
the association of CP and suicide were subjected to a structured review. These
studies indicated that suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide
completions are commonly found in CPP populations. In addition, a number of
controlled studies and suicide completion rate studies indicated that CP may be
a suicide risk factor. Finally, a review of known suicide risk factors from
other populations indicated that CP populations commonly exhibit other suicide
risk factors. Psychiatric examiners should consider CP to be a potential
suicide risk factor. In addition, in all CPPs
exhibiting suicidal behavior, a careful search for associated comorbid suicide risk factors should be initiated.
Clin J Pain. 1992 Jun;8(2):164-9.
Early detection measures and triage procedures for
suicide ideation in chronic pain patients.
Livengood JM, Parris WC.
Department of Anesthesiology,
There is a dearth of writings about early
detection of potential suicide patients in chronic pain centers. Early
detection measures used at the Vanderbilt Pain Control Center include a Symptom
Checklist-90, with questions about depressive symptomatology
and "Thoughts of Ending Your Life"; medical and psychological interviews;
monitoring of changes in emotional disturbance; and, if warranted,
administration of the Scale of Suicidal Ideation. Three case studies are presented that indicate that the results of an
assessment measure should be tempered with clinical judgment. Suicidal
behavior, including suicidal ideation, is a medical emergency; therefore, there
is great need for early detection and triage measures.
Neurology. 1995 Dec;45(12 Suppl 9):S11-6; discussion S35-6.
Central pain: diagnosis and treatment strategies.
Gonzales GR.
Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic
The pathophysiology
of central pain (CP) remains poorly understood. The paucity of objective
findings on clinical examination of some of these patients can add to the
difficulty in establishing a concrete diagnosis of CP. A pathophysiologic
conceptual framework has been established to provide guidance. The goal of
treatment should be pain reduction rather than complete pain relief. Surgical
procedures have been used for specific causes of CP, but no one surgical
technique helps relieve pain over the long term in all CP patients. Likewise,
no one pharmacologic agent is successful in all CP patients, and pain relief is
often incomplete. Pharmacologic treatment may take the form of stepwise
addition of various agents, the cornerstone of which are
antidepressants, followed by anticonvulsants, opioids,
and other drugs. If all standard
pharmacologic treatments fail, treatment of psychological problems induced by
chronic pain is necessary since depression and the risk of suicide are
significant in patients with poorly controlled CP.
J Psychosoc Nurs
Ment Health Serv. 1992 Feb;30(2):29-34. Related Articles, Links
Suicide among elderly white men: development of a
profile.
Mellick E, Buckwalter
KC, Stolley JM.
1. Older white men have the highest
suicide rate in the nation; a linear increase of suicide occurs with each
passing year of chronological age. 2. Elderly who attempt suicide are more
likely to communicate their intentions less frequently and to use violent and
lethal means. 3. Chronic sleep problems, pain, degenerative illness, or
clinical depression may be experienced by older white men at suicidal risk;
somatic complaints including imaginary symptoms can mask depression. 4.
Educational programs, outreach mental health programs, and enhanced
consultation/coordination improve case findings and early intervention. Holistic nursing care, including pain
alleviation, depression assessment, and simple comfort measures, are imperative
in suicide prevention in the elderly.
Clin J Pain. 1989 Sep;5(3):275-7. Related Articles, Links
Comment in:
Clin J Pain. 1990 Jun;6(2):160-6.
Homicide-suicide and chronic pain.
Fishbain DA, Goldberg M, Rosomoff RS, Rosomoff HL.
Homicide-Suicide (H-S) is a form of dual
death where the murder is closely followed by the suicide of the perpetrator.
H-S is extremely rare and has not previously been described within the chronic
pain patient population. Such a case is presented. Psychiatric examination data
from the victims of H-S revealed a number of complex, psychiatric, social,
vocational, and litigation problems. Demographically the case displays some
characteristics associated with suicide pacts.
Am J Public Health. 1995 Oct;85(10):1452-3. Related Articles, Links
Back pain and risk of suicide
among Finnish farmers.
Penttinen J.
Clin J Pain. 1991 Mar;7(1):29-36.
Completed suicide in chronic pain.
Fishbain DA, Goldberg M, Rosomoff RS, Rosomoff H.
Department of
Psychiatry,
Although convergent lines of evidence indicate that one can
expect a high rate of suicide completion for chronic pain patients, this problem
has not previously been investigated. Follow-up data from our pain center
revealed three chronic pain patients (two men and one woman) who completed
suicide. These three cases are presented. The sequential nature of the data
enabled us to calculate suicide rates for our chronic pain population and subsamples of this population: 16.5 women per year; 29.3
men per year; 57.1 white men and 34.9 white women in the age range of 35-64
years per year; and 78.6 white worker compensation men in the age range of 35-64
years per year. Calculation of the 95% confidence interval and comparison of
these suicide rates to the general population of the
Psychother Psychosom. 1994;61(1-2):65-73.
Attempted suicide, depression and
physical diseases: a 1-year follow-up study.
Stenager EN, Stenager E, Jensen K.
Department of Psychiatry,
In the period
Psychother Psychosom. 1995;63(1):54-5.
Links
Comment on:
Psychother Psychosom. 1994;61(1-2):65-73.
Chronic pain and suicide.
Fishbain DA.
Clin J Pain. 2004 Mar-Apr;20(2):111-8. Related Articles,
Links
Suicidal ideation in outpatients with chronic musculoskeletal pain: an
exploratory study of the role of sleep onset insomnia and pain intensity.
Smith MT, Perlis ML, Haythornthwaite JA.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. msmith62@jhmi.edu
OBJECTIVES: Sleep disturbance, depression, and heightened
risk of suicide are among the most clinically significant sequelae
of chronic pain. While sleep disturbance is associated with suicidality
in patients with major depression and is a significant independent predictor of
completed suicide in psychiatric patients, it is not known whether sleep
disturbance is associated with suicidal behavior in chronic pain. This
exploratory study evaluates the importance of insomnia in discriminating
suicidal ideation in chronic pain relative to depression severity and other
pain-related factors. METHODS: Fifty-one outpatients with non-cancer chronic
pain were recruited. Subjects completed a pain and sleep survey, the Pittsburgh
Sleep Quality Index, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Multidimensional
Pain Inventory. Subjects were classified as "suicidal ideators"
or "non-ideators" based on their responses
to BDI-Item 9 (Suicide). Bivariate analyses and
multivariate discriminant function analyses were
conducted. RESULTS: Twenty-four percent reported suicidal ideation (without
intent). Suicidal ideators endorsed higher levels of:
sleep onset insomnia, pain intensity, medication usage, pain-related
interference, affective distress, and depressive symptoms (P < 0.03). These
6 variables were entered into stepwise discriminant
function analyses. Two variables predicted group membership: Sleep Onset
Insomnia Severity and Pain Intensity, respectively. The discriminant
function correctly classified 84.3% of the cases (P < 0.0001). DISCUSSION: Chronic
pain patients who self-reported severe and frequent initial insomnia with
concomitant daytime dysfunction and high pain intensity were more likely to
report passive suicidal ideation, independent from the effects of depression
severity. Future research aimed at determining whether sleep disturbance is a
modifiable risk factor for suicidal ideation in chronic pain is warranted.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2003 Apr;15(2):99-110. Related Articles, Links
Suicide and euthanasia in late life.
De Leo D, Spathonis K.
Australian Institute for Suicide Research
and Prevention,
Epidemiological studies of suicide in the elderly indicate
that, in the last few decades, there has been a relevant increase in suicide
rates in old age in a number of Asian and Latin nations, with an almost
parallel decrease in Anglo-Saxon counties. Mental disorders, particularly
depression, physical illness, personality traits such as hostility, hopelessness,
the inability to verbally express psychological pain and dependency on others,
recent life events and losses are all factors that may contribute to suicide in
later life. Compared with suicide in other age groups, mors voluntaris in late
life is associated with the use of highly lethal methods, less ambivalence and
impulsivity, and more determination and intent to die. Accordingly, elderly
suicidal individuals are more likely than younger subjects to complete rather
than attempt suicide. Some evidence suggests also that the characteristics of
elderly individuals who attempt suicide may not overlap with those who complete
suicide. Death thoughts and suicidal ideations are relatively rare among
mentally healthy elderly adults, and are less predominant in this age bracket.
However, whether elderly suicidal behaviour exists
along a continuum, progressing in severity from death thoughts and suicidal
ideation to suicide attempts and completed suicide,
remains unclear. Assisted suicide and
euthanasia in the elderly have been associated with the desire to escape
chronic physical pain and suffering caused by terminal illness, and to relieve
mental anguish and feelings of hopelessness, depression and extreme
"tiredness of life." The role of the family and those treating
chronically ill members is crucial in the final stages of life, particularly
when autonomy and the ability of the elderly individual to make end-of-life
decisions are compromised. The main aspects associated with these controversial
phenomena, particularly from a transcultural
perspective, are reviewed in this article.
J Am Med Womens Assoc. 2003
Winter;58(1):44-8. Related Articles,
Links
Antecedents
of euthanasia and suicide among older women.
Roscoe LA, Malphurs JE, Dragovic LJ, Cohen
D.
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine,
University of South Florida, MDC 19, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL
33612-4799, USA. lroscoe@hsc.usf.edu
OBJECTIVES: To identify the
characteristics of older women who sought Jack Kevorkian's assistance in dying
and to compare them with those of an age-matched sample who committed suicide.
METHOD: This retrospective case-control study compared all 18 women age 55 and
older who died with the assistance of Jack Kevorkian and whose deaths were
investigated in Oakland County, Michigan from 1995 to 1997 with all 15 women
age 55 and older who committed suicide in the same county during the same time
period. We coded 203 variables in 7 domains from medical examiner files,
including autopsy findings. RESULTS: Significantly more of Kevorkian's cases
had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or multiple sclerosis (p = .018), a recent
decline in health (p = .031), or inadequately controlled pain (p = .041). Women
who committed suicide had more prevalent chronic illnesses and were more likely
to have been diagnosed with clinically significant depression or other
psychiatric disorders (p = .023). Both groups were significantly less likely to
be married (p < .001) and more likely to be divorced (p < .001) than US
Census data would predict. CONCLUSIONS: The different vulnerabilities of older
women who want to die and either commit suicide or seek assistance deserve
continued careful research. Poorly
controlled pain was a factor in seeking assistance in dying, and depression and
psychiatric disorders characterized older women who committed suicide in our
study. Not having a spouse may increase isolation and reinforce the
hopelessness of women who are living with catastrophic illness.
BMJ. 2001 Sep 22;323(7314):662-5.
Related Articles, Links
Comment in:
BMJ. 2002 Feb 2;324(7332):300.
BMJ. 2002 Feb 2;324(7332):300.
Widespread body pain and mortality: prospective population based study.
Macfarlane GJ, McBeth J, Silman AJ.
Unit of Chronic Disease Epidemiology,
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is
excess mortality in groups of people who report widespread body pain, and if so
to establish the nature and extent of any excess. DESIGN: Prospective follow up
study over eight years. Mortality rate ratios were adjusted for age group, sex,
and study location. SETTING:
Pain. 1998 May;76(1-2):137-44.
Suicidality
in chronic abdominal pain: an analysis of the Hispanic Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (HHANES).
Magni G, Rigatti-Luchini S, Fracca F, Merskey H.
F. Hoffmann-La
Roche, Ltd., Basel, Switzerland.
The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between
suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, depression and chronic abdominal pain in
data gathered during a systematic epidemiologic survey, the Hispanic Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey of the United States National Centre for Health
Statistics. The material comprises data collected between 1982 and 1984 in
samples of Hispanic groups in the