Veterans who experience pain are more likely to attempt suicide, according to a study by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The study, published this year in the Journal of Pain, found that veterans suffering from moderate to severe pain were at higher risk for suicide attempts over the course of a year.
“This close correlation between pain intensity and suicide risk and death rates suggests that reducing pain, or the perception of pain, can help prevent Veteran suicide,” Dr. Lisham Ashrafioun, a researcher at the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, wrote in a VA blog post.
Ashrafioun and his colleagues found that moderate to severe pain increased the risk of a suicide attempt, even when outside factors such as PTSD, depression, and a history of suicidal behavior were taken into account.
Steven Pressley, a 28-year-old Navy veteran, shot himself in April in the parking lot of a VA hospital in Dublin, Georgia. His mother recalled him telling her, “I don’t want to live 50 more years in this pain,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ryan Trunzo, a 26-year-old Army veteran, committed suicide in 2014 after he tried and failed to get painkillers from the VA to mitigate pain caused by fractures in his back.
“I feel like the VA took my son’s life,” his mother told the Star Tribune.
[Also read: 6,000 veterans have committed suicide each year for a decade, VA finds]
How to treat veteran pain problems can put VA medical practitioners in a difficult position, particularly when it comes to prescribing pain killers in the midst of the nationwide opioid epidemic. While the VA research suggests managing pain may reduce some suicide attempts, the department also is fighting an opioid epidemic.
The VA considers physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and chiropractic care to be the “first line” treatments used to manage pain. Medication options include anti-inflammatories.
“Opioids may be used under close monitoring when they are taken appropriately and the benefits outweigh the risks,” Ashrafioun wrote.
While suicide is a nationwide epidemic, the rate for veterans is 1.5 times higher than that of nonveterans. Nearly 17 veterans a day committed suicide in 2017, according to VA data.
Suicide prevention has been a priority for Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie since he took office in July 2018. President Trump signed an executive order in March creating a task force dedicated to coming up with a road map to solve the problem.
“Our mission is to mobilize every level of American society to save the lives of our great Veterans and support our Veterans in need,” Trump said.
