Living with chronic pain is associated with many harmful outcomes,
including increased suicide risk. Few studies have examined pain-related
factors that increase or decrease a patient's suicide risk. This study
examined the use of pain-related coping strategies and pain-related
catastrophizing [thinking the worst will happen, thereby increasing
your anxiety, worry, and pain sensitivity] as these relate to suicidal
thinking in patients with chronic pain. A total of 1,512 chronic pain
patients completed questionnaires assessing pain, coping, and psychosocial
functioning. Approximately 32% reported some form of recent suicidal
thinking. The two most consistent predictors of the presence and degree
of suicidal thinking were the magnitude of depressive symptoms and the
degree of pain-related catastrophizing. Demographic and other factors
such as pain severity and duration were not generally good predictors
of suicidal thinking in this patient sample. These are the first findings
that suggest a unique association between pain-coping strategies and
suicide-related thinking in patients with chronic pain. The researchers
recommend further studies in this area and the inclusion of suicide
prevention materials when teaching pain-coping skills. Edwards RR, Smith
MT, Kudel I, Haythornthwaite J. Adapted from Pain. 2006 Dec 15;126(1-3):272-9.
PMID: 16926068
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Credit: PubMed, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
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