The Perception of Being a Burden in Acute and Chronic Pain Patients Is Associated with Affirmation of Different Types of Suicidality.
The perception of being a burden or self-perceived burden (SPB) is associated with suicide ideation in chronic pain patients (CPPs). The objective of this study was to determine if SPB is associated with five types of suicidality (wish to die, active suicide ideation, presence of suicide plan, history of suicide attempts, and preference for death over being disabled) in CPPs and acute pain patients (APPs).



Affirmation of SPB was statistically compared between community nonpatients without pain (CNPWP), APPs, and CPPs. APPs and CPPs who had affirmed any of the five types of suicidality were compared statistically for affirmation of SPB. Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to determine the significance of SPB in predicting each of the five types of suicidality in APPs and CPPs controlling for age, gender, race, education status, and two types of measures of depression (current depression and vegetative depression).



APPs and CPPs were statistically more likely to affirm SPB than CNPWPs and CPPs were more likely than APPs to do so. There were no differences between APPs and CPPs in affirming SPB in APPs and CPPs who had affirmed any of the five types of suicidality. In CPPs, SPB predicted each type of suicidality in a significant fashion utilizing both types of depression measures. For APPs, SPB predicted each type of suicidality in a significant fashion except for history of suicide attempt controlling for vegetative depression.



SPB is associated with the vast majority of different types of suicidality in APPs and CPPs.
Departments of *Psychiatry d.fishbain@miami.edu.|Neurological Surgery.|Anesthesiology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.|Department of Psychiatry at Miami Veterans Administration Hospital, Miami, Florida.
David A
DA
Fishbain
Health Psychology Associates, Greeley, Colorado.|Integrated Therapies, Lakewood, Colorado.|University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Denver, Colorado.
Daniel
D
Bruns
Health Psychology Associates, Greeley, Colorado.
Alexander
A
Bruns
**American International Group, New York, New York, USA.
Jinrun
J
Gao
Departments of *Psychiatry.
John E
JE
Lewis
University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Denver, Colorado.
Laura J
LJ
Meyer
Health Psychology Associates, Greeley, Colorado.|University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology, Denver, Colorado.
John Mark
JM
Disorbio
D059787:Acute Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
Acute Pain Patients; Burden; Burden Perception; Chronic Pain Patients; Community Patients Without Pain; Self-Perceived Burden; Suicidality