Background and Aims:
Suicide is one of the most leading causes of death worldwide. Individuals with chronic pain are at higher risk for suicide than other population. Moreover, the potential for prescription drug abuse enormously exists. Little is known about the relationship between prescription drug abuse and suicide among those individuals. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence and associated correlates of suicidality and determine its relation to prescription drug abuse, among US adults with a history of chronic pain.

Methods:
Data were obtained from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES 2001-2003). This analysis was limited to US respondents who had a history of chronic pain (N = 5289). Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association between suicidality and abuse of prescription drugs among US adults with a history of chronic pain.

Results:
Among respondents with a history of chronic pain, there was a strong positive association between prescription drug abuse and suicidal ideation and attempts (P-value < 0.001, = 0.006, respectively). Logistic regression analysis adjusted for sociodemographic variables, lifetime mood, anxiety, and other substance use disorders, showed that those who abused prescription drugs had 1.5 times greater likelihood of suicidal ideation relative to those not abusing prescription drugs (95 % CI 1.18–1.82).

Conclusions:
There is a robust relationship between prescription drug abuse and suicidality in individuals with a history of chronic pain. Further longitudinal studies need to investigate the causal relationship between prescription drugs and other substance use disorders, and suicidality among those populations.

IS SUICIDALITY LINKED TO PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE IN US ADULTS WITH A HISTORY OF CHRONIC PAIN?