Pain and suicide: what should we tell our trainees?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This paper will emphasize the necessity to improve education about pain, its close relationship with suicide, and effective suicide screening as well as management strategies for medical providers. METHODS A review of the relevant literature. RESULTS Chronic pain is a debilitating medical condition affecting a significant percentage of the population worldwide. Considerable evidence suggests that pain is an independent risk factor for suicide and inadequately managing pain has been identified as a risk for suicidal behavior. Additionally, medications used to treat pain may also contribute to suicidal behavior. Extensive research on pain highlights deficiencies in the clinical management of pain with more gaps in care when patients have pain in combination with mental illness and suicidal behavior. CONCLUSION Providing trainees with additional knowledge and equipping them with relevant tools to screen and manage chronic pain efficiently is a potential strategy to mitigate suicide risk. Also, trainees need to be educated on how to screen for suicidality in individuals with pain and apply suicide prevention interventions. With additional research, it is the hope that novel treatment modalities will be developed to treat pain to improve the quality of life of individuals suffering from this condition and to decrease suicide risk in this patient population.