Chronic pain drives millions of Americans to suicide: CDC report reveals rise in patients with cancer, arthritis, and back pain taking their own lives

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6152779/Chronic-pain-drives-millions-Americans-suicide.html

  • CDC researchers analyzed suicide data on 18 states between 2003 and 2014
  • They found the rate of people with chronic pain taking their own lives went up
  • Firearm-related injuries were the most common cause of death in all suicide cases, but more common among pain patients than those without pain
  • Researchers say this shows a clear need for suicide prevention for pain patients, even if they don’t seem at risk 

Chronic pain from cancer, arthritis, and other conditions drives millions of people to suicide every year, a new report warns. 

The mortal implications of pain have been widely discussed in recent years since the opioid epidemic showed painkillers can drive anyone to overdose, whether intentionally or not. 

But a new report by the CDC warns overdoses account for a minority of deaths among people who suffer from chronic pain. 

In recent years, the number of chronic pain patients intentionally taking their own lives has soared, with most cases committed using a firearm. 

The researchers warn their findings highlight that suicide prevention should be a fundamental element of care for chronic pain patients, especially when their treatment involves highly-addictive, potentially lethal drugs. 

CDC researchers analyzed suicide data on 18 states between 2003 and 2014. They found the rate of people with chronic pain taking their own lives went up (file image)

CDC researchers analyzed suicide data on 18 states between 2003 and 2014. They found the rate of people with chronic pain taking their own lives went up (file image)

Pain is a daily reality for at least 25 million Americans, according to national data. At least 10.5 million suffer severe pain on a daily basis. 

New data compiled by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published today in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, hammer home why there is more to it than habitual discomfort.

Looking at just 18 states between 2003 and 2014, lead author Emiko Petrosky and colleagues found 123,181 people had committed suicide. A staggering nine percent of them (10,789) had been battling chronic pain, particularly from things like arthritis, cancer and back pain.

It was a connection that became stronger and stronger over the years. In 2003, 7.4 percent of suicide cases were tied to chronic pain. By 2014, that figure had risen to 10.2 percent.     

Firearms are the most common cause of death for all suicides in America, but this study shows it is more common for people with pain (53.6 percent) than those without (51 percent). Meanwhile 16.2 percent of pain patients who committed suicide died by overdose.

The study also found chronic pain patients were more likely than others to have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and were much more likely than to have opioids in their system at the time of their death than those who were not suffering from pain (whether the drugs were a cause of death or not).

Writing in an editorial released in tandem with the study, Dr Mark Ilgen, of the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, says the findings show a clear need to ‘raise hope in persons with chronic pain’.

‘Suicide prevention involves making effective pain interventions more available,’ he says, but warns that that is, clearly, not enough. 

These interventions, Dr Ilgen explains, ‘extend beyond providing access to opioids and should also include, if appropriate, other medications, interventional programs, physical therapy, and psychosocial approaches.’ 

‘These pain-related interventions need to be supplemented with mental health treatment in persons with pain and depressive and anxiety-related symptoms to foster hope and help address suicidal thoughts and plans.’ 

  • For confidential support in the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 
  • For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. 
  • For confidential support in Australia, call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14

Does this report suggest that the war on drugs and substance abusers has/is causing chronic pain pts to commit suicide because of their unrelenting, unbearable pain ?  Where is the media with their outrage of all of these otherwise preventable deaths.. as you do with substance abuser who die from a OD ?

Has the deaths/suicides of those in the chronic pain community became ACCEPTABLE to our society while we try to prevent those who abuse some illegal substance OD are so unacceptable that our society is pulling out all the stops in an attempt to prevent those OD’s… and yet the number of deaths are increasing both by chronic pain pts committing suicides and substance abusers that are ODing

where is the OUTRAGE by the media and the families of those who are committing suicide and/or ODing from using/abusing an illegal substance ?

Perhaps this suggests where the media and others “fighting the war on drugs”  has their “head”

18 Responses

  1. Cdc never had the legal authority to write these guidelines in the first place, that would be the FDA’S AREA Had they wanted to go that route. I think after my research on all the players involved that we have got to demand this get a Real investigation, too many people have left this world or are thinking about it. It’s been close to 2 years for me with torturous pain and I’m just sick that this is happening in this country, I’m still here because I want to live to see all these bloody bas@#rds pay And see people who have been abused by these heartless, satanic, sorry excuses for human beings have back what works for them to relieve immense sufferring

  2. I have taken this opportunity to share my heartbreaking story in hopes these witch hunting Opiate ill informed skeptics will read and understand that I would have no life without Medically prescribed Opiates by a physicians care and strictly monitored monthly urine and blood test. Please remember that An Opinion Before A Thorough Investigation Is The Epitome Of Ignorance! And that a little more compassion from the Medical Field and its representatives could have saved my beautiful Stepdaughters life. Let me say this! A person who has a addictive personality will abuse anything that helps them feel better. I have taken Oxycontin for 12 years , I have had 20 major surgery’s in 9 years. I have so much physical pain I can not even get out of bed with out pain meds and when I run out I run out and just lay in bed praying the Lord relieve me of this horrible condition and I pray God you pain med skeptics never go through what I go through everyday of my life when the only thing you have to do is threaten what help I get, Shame on you! There will always be drug abuse and as the so called war on drugs has failed all this will! All you do is stoke and aid the drug pushers business to knew heights in the Black Market of Heroin while depriving folks as me to this horrible movement! My Stepdaughter committed suicide 4 years ago because of being treated like a drug addict by her family and doctors when all along she suffered from Lupus and Fibro which I believe was brought on by a deadly car crash at 18 , she told me between that which I was being put through and what they were putting her through she was not going to live her life in such a hell brought on by people like you that are on a witch hunt to out law Opiates and pain meds that give us some sort of a life . As a retired Police officer and worked indirectly close to the DEA, you people do not have a clue how thrilled you are making the illegal opiate trade and think of my Late Stepdaughter as you continue on with this 2016 Version of the ( 1940s Propaganda Film named REEFER MADNESS )movement to outlaw opiates! Just like the slaughter of children at Sandy Hook if there would have just been gun laws , my God they were Gun Laws , the guns that murdered all those 20 children were all registered and owned by a school teacher! You fight Drug Addiction in Elementary education by teaching all children the dangers of Booze and Tobacco which if these witch hunters want for us to know the real truth but they do not. I miss my Stepdaughter a so much and some of us will continue on the fight to protect our right to feel better and function without fear of these witch hunters trying to convince us to commit suicide . And they are trying to do exactly THAT!
    The under line real truth is THESE witch hunters would rather us Chronic Pain sufferers commit suicide are and DRINK all the BOOZE we can drink! The Federals legalized it ( ALCOHOL) knowing its a more deadly drug than Strychnine. And just because the DEA has miserably failed with their witch hunt type movement on drugs why do they deprive us sick people of our Constitutional Rights to be Happy in that pursuit of with Professional Physicians to take meds that give us relief of this horrible malady of Chronic Pain ! May God have mercy on their miserable souls they that seek to destroy us Chronic Pain Sufferers only and little hope of temporary relief of this horrible sickness. Below picture of me and my Stepdaughter Sissy a year before she committed suicide.

  3. See I do everything including mental health but take away my medication and I’m a dead woman. Believe that. I will leave a note as well pointing the finger at the CDC for pushing me in that direction.

  4. All the people they claim committed suicide did they leave notes saying why they commit suicide? Probably not! What is actually happening when someone dies they do a Autopsy Of the person and then the autopsy technician find Opioid in the person system, So the autopsy technician just assume that the people committed suicide with a Overdose with all the different kinds of drugs the person was taken. but a person goes to all different doctors and each doctor gives you different kinds of medication, But Do the Doctors always look to see what other medications you are taken From your primary, care pain management or whatever kind of other doctor you go to and gives you medications! So once again do doctors check to see what other doctors are giving you? And the doctors do not tell you don’t mix this drug with the other ones! Doctors just assume that everybody reads the paper that comes with your medication! So it’s just a cover-up for the Doctors mistake and telling patient not to mix pain meds with other meds, and putting all the Fault on the patient’s! There is those doctors that sell pain medication prescriptions to make a buck and they don’t give a damn! And the ones that buys those higher price pain medication prescription are people with money or drug dealers because they mix it what street drugs now! And now chronic pain people are being bullied and taken her pain medication away from people but honestly actually need it to live a quality life without chronic pain!

    • Connie, all but one state have Prescriptions Monitoring Programs. Pharmacists are suppose to check their PMP before they fill an opioid. Most, if not all states require doctors to check their PMP before prescribing. But, how often doctors are to do this varies depending on the state.

      An autopsy includes far, far more than toxicology alone. If the toxicology report shows MLD of certain drugs or combination of drugs. There is no need to do an autopsy.

      • except when the person already had a number of co-morbidity issues and the ingestion of multiple substances – which would not have “did in” a otherwise healthy person – one “do in” a person with other health issues… the average OD has 4-7 substances and there is no black/white blood level or combination of blood levels can be a ABSOLUTE determination of what caused death – without a autopsy. OF course, a suicide is ILLEGAL and will have cause the expensive of doing an investigation… declaring a OD a accidental overdose… case closed… no further time/money has to be expended for an investigation and gives the DOJ/DEA another dead body to label as a opiate related death..help them justify larger budgets to fight the war on drugs

    • I have taken this opportunity to share my heartbreaking story in hopes these witch hunting Opiate ill informed skeptics will read and understand that I would have no life without Medically prescribed Opiates by a physicians care and strictly monitored monthly urine and blood test. Please remember that An Opinion Before A Thorough Investigation Is The Epitome Of Ignorance! And that a little more compassion from the Medical Field and its representatives could have saved my beautiful Stepdaughters life. Let me say this! A person who has an addictive personality will abuse anything that helps them feel better. I have taken Oxycontin for 14 years , I have had 24 major surgery’s in 10 years. I have so much physical pain I can not even get out of bed with out pain meds and when I run out I run out and just lay in bed praying the Lord relieve me of this horrible condition and I pray God you pain medicine( Opiates) skeptics never go through what I go through everyday of my life when the only thing you have to do is threaten what help I get, Shame on you! There will always be drug abuse and as the so called war on drugs has failed as this will! All you do is stoke and aid the drug pushers business to new heights in the Black Market of Heroin while depriving legitimate Chronic Pain Patients as myself of the much needed medicines and the relief it brings temporarily ! My Stepdaughter committed suicide 4 years ago because of being treated like a drug addict by some of her family and doctors when all along she suffered from Lupus and Fibromyalgia which I believe was brought on by a deadly car crash at 18 , she told me between that which I was being put through and what they were putting her through she was not going to live her life in such a hell brought on by people like these Opiate Witch Hunters that are on a witch hunt to out law Opiates and pain meds that give us some sort of a life . As a retired Police officer and worked indirectly close to the DEA, you people do not have a clue how thrilled you are making the illegal Heroin trade and think of my Late Stepdaughter as you continue on with this ( 2016 Version of the 1940s Propaganda movie named REEFER MADNESS) movement to outlaw opiates! Just like the slaughter of children at Sandy Hook if there would have just been gun laws , my God they were Gun Laws , the guns that murdered all those 20 children were all registered and owned by a school teacher! You fight Drug Addiction beginning in Elementary education by teaching all children the dangers of Booze and Tobacco which if these witch hunters want for us to know the real truth but they do not. I miss my Stepdaughter so much and some of us will continue on the fight to protect our right to feel better and function without fear of these witch hunters trying to convince us to commit suicide . And they are trying to do exactly THAT!
      The under line real truth( It’s Beginning To Seem ) is THESE witch hunters would rather us Chronic Pain sufferers commit suicide are and DRINK all the BOOZE we can drink! The Federals legalized it ( ALCOHOL) knowing its a more deadly drug than Strychnine. And just because the DEA has miserably failed with their ( Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley’s )War on drugs why do they want and are trying to deprive us sick people of our Constitutional Rights to be Happy in that pursuit of with Professional Physicians to take medicines that give us temporary relief of this horrible malady of Chronic Pain ! May God have mercy on their miserable souls they that seek to destroy us Chronic Pain Sufferers only and little hope of temporary relief of this horrible sickness.

  5. It the suicides or the street. It is like that is what they want us to do?.in ask them when I call them also?.I usually do not get a answer!

  6. Not only are people committing suicide. Many people have to wait their jobs because the pain is to unbearable to work. When this happens people start losing homes, automobiles their lives are turned upside down. Go ahead get all of the illegal opiods off of the street. But leave grown ass adults alone to male their own decisions. It’s not the government’s or the CDC’S business to get involved in our personal lives. WTH ever happened to the HIPPA law? If law enforcement would do their jobs and not look the other way we wouldn’t be having all of these “opiod problems or crisis’ “. It’s ridiculous .

  7. I want to see numbers from this year and last year- 2004 – 2014 were before the draconian inhumane rules

    • I can tell u for my research,,2001 thru 2014,,,,each year,,,we had 2,000 more suicides each year,,Then in 2015-2016,,,the suicides went up to 6,000 in that time span alone,,,,after 2016,,,,don’t know.Now,,,these are recorded suicides,,they do not blame them on the truth of course,,,forced physical pain,,ie torture,,but these are the ###’s,,,,u can see for yourself on Suicide prevention site,,,,the rub is,,,”they”’ won’t tie them into their tortureing us,,via denial of access to effective dosages of our MEDICINES,,OR taking away our medicines,,they claim them as ,”just suicides,” no reason behind them!!grrrr,,,,maryw

  8. Was this sent to the opioid task force and the fda…

  9. The picture here is completely the truth of what’s happening! The heads of these Government officials is completely up their ASS.
    I’ve known thousands of pain patients over the years and none of them who were receiving proper pain care , None! Not one had overdosed Nor committed suicide. Now isn’t that an interesting fact? This didn’t start happening until these patients meds were stripped away by reduction or some completely cut off.

    • I was afraid to even think of using my pain meds to self select. If it went wrong and I survived I knew I’d never be able to get meds again. Is anyone paying attention to the number of single car accidents resulting in death among pain patients?

      I’m very fortunate, i was in pain management during those years when we fought for our right to treatment and getting pain levels added to our vital sign assessment. (Aka the 90’s) I was living on fentanyl patches for 15 years until I found my neurosurgeon (my angel of mercy) who rebuilt my c-spine. With the majority of that pain resolved I titrated off all narcotics within 3 months post op.

      I still have DDS,
      Fibromyalgia with MFPS, anxiety and PTSD which I manage with muscle relaxers, exercise, cannabis and manual trigger point release. If I hadn’t had successful surgery and lost my pain meds my plan was hitting a tree head on. I’m glad I haven’t had to make that choice but how many pain patients have we lost that way? And who is it benefitting? I’ll bet no one is collecting those numbers…

  10. There is a reason the military/wars use physical pain as a mechanism for torture,,,,it breaks a man,,,it breaks their souls,,it breaks their will to live,,being tortured everyday,,death becomes the final act of self preservation,,,to preserve the mind set of a life we once knew,,,to preserve the dignity we once felt,,,to preserve the lived life we all once knew,,with medicine designed to give life,,not take it,,Opiates are a medicine to those of us who took it to live life,,,once there forcible taken away,,,we are no longer ,”living,” ,” life,,,were existing in it,,an existance in forced physical pain,,That type of existance is ,,not worth loosing all tht made us who we once were,,jmo,,maryw

  11. Since I can no longer operate my small building business, I spend my days reading “Pharmacist Steve”, very informative, thanks Steve! I call CDC EVERYDAY. I call FDA, HHS, and today I called DEA to see if everything was “status quo” or if ANY federal dot/gov agency really either gives a damn about real suffering, literal torture daily for some 10 million pain management patients or not because I have NOTHING left to lose except my life. I feel as if I have had my dignity stomped on long ago because the “chronic” pain world has the heavy air of stigma that we, the patients are “weak willed”, do not have the a$$ to stick to any task and finish it.. Let Jeff Sessions be diagnosed with lower spine pain and have to have a couple of spine fusion surgeries and see if he can take a couple “tylenol” and tough it out. Yeah….not likely because even if he did have to use opiate medication he would never admit….he was wro, wro wro…… wrong. I am going to call ANY and ALL federal agencies DAILY that has a “dog in this idiotic fight” because it is about ALL that we as the pain management community can do is rustle some feathers, make some waves, disrupt the status quo because we suffer totally needlessly! It is actually finally being proven with statistics that the pain management community first, did NOT fuel the “opioid epidemic”, and as the DEA FULLY controls ALL dosages of opiate medication and have limited our doctors to a “maximum” dosage regardless of the disease or injury causing intolerable human pain, the rate of those that can no longer tolerate the daily severe pain are choosing to end their lives and for me this is totally unacceptable. How many suicides does it take to realize wrong “decisions” have been made and their must be an immediate solution at least for pain management patients AND for acute pain at the ER when people are in need of pain suppression whether already a pain management patient or have never need pain management control. Call, write, all agencies and express the fact that we have done no wrong and many pain management medications are simply NOT that expensive to make.What do we have left to lose?

  12. “…especially when their treatment involves highly-addictive, potentially lethal drugs. ” ARRRGH. They’re still trying to turn it around onto the prescription meds. I note they don’t mention the recently revealed results from the VA’s lovely little experiment where they forcibly removed those “highly addictive, potentially lethal drugs” from chronically pained vets & saw a fairly drastic increase in suicides in patients forced to endure untreated pain. Maybe –& this is surely a heretical idea– those “highly-addictive, potentially lethal drugs” are actually keeping the suicide rate DOWN, & now that the moron bureaucrats & pols are yanking them right & left the suicide rate is gonna skyrocket.

    But then…that is probably what they want anyway…it’s a whole lot cheaper to stick us in the ground in a pine box than try to allow us some dignity & quality of life for a few more years.

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