Background: High suicide rates are documented among persons with bipolar disorder diagnoses and pain diagnoses, but few studies have examined the association of pain with suicide mortality in individuals with comorbid pain and bipolar disorders. This study assessed the association of pain screening and pain severity with suicide mortality among veterans with comorbid bipolar and musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) diagnoses.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 168,021 patients within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) who received an MSD diagnosis from 2000 to 2015 and had a bipolar disorder diagnosis. Pain severity, comorbidities, demographics, and suicide mortality were extracted from VHA databases. Poisson regression examined relative risk of suicide by the presence pain screening and pain severity ratings.
Results: Pain was assessed in 72.73 % of veterans. Suicide risk was greater in those not assessed (0.98 % versus 0.77 % in assessed group). However, this result did not persist after adjusting for covariates (RR = 1.06). Among those assessed, higher suicide risk was associated with moderate (RR = 1.10), severe pain (RR = 1.06), and no pain (reference) relative to mild pain (RR = 0.99). Major depression, substance use disorders, and prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines increased risk.
Limitations: Data were obtained from medical records; diagnoses were not confirmed via formal assessment, and no information was available on actual medication use or purpose. Over 25 % of the sample were missing pain severity ratings, which could have affected results.
Conclusions: Suicide risk factors among persons with bipolar disorder are complex and multifactorial. Providers should prioritize suicide prevention efforts following new onset or worsening pain.
Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Mental health; Pain; Suicide risk; US Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans.
Published by Elsevier B.V.