Pain in the bipolar disorder: prevalence, characteristics and relationship with suicide risk.
Ana Carolina Ferreira Rosa, Eliseth Ribeiro Leão
PMID 34190952WHAT IT FOUND
Most adults with bipolar disorder reported pain, often daily and musculoskeletal, at moderate intensity; higher pain intensity went with more suicidal thoughts and plans.
Many said pain complaints were not welcomed or treated.
Key findings
01Fifty of the sixty study participants reported feeling pain at the time of the interview, and 60% reported musculoskeletal pain; the spinal cord was the most reported location, and 44% experienced pain every day.
0240 of the 50 participants with pain said they did not receive pain care in any health service, and 42 of the 50 said they were not welcomed when presenting pain.
03With each addition of a point on the pain scale, a 14.5% increase in the mean suicidal ideation score was reported in the total sample.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 60 adults from one mental health service, so it may not represent people with bipolar disorder elsewhere. It used a convenience sample of patients already followed at the service, and 3 of 63 eligible patients declined. Pain and suicidal ideation were measured at one time point, so the study cannot show that pain causes suicidal ideation or that treating pain reduces suicide risk. Pain and suicidal ideation were self-reported, and the paper does not report bipolar episode phase or polarity, which could affect pain reports. The sample was mostly women, which may limit generalisation. The significant association was seen with the Visual Numerical Scale, not with the McGill sensory, affective, or total scores.
Declared interests
No funding or conflict-of-interest statement is given. One researcher worked at the service where data were collected.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that treating pain will lower suicide risk. This study only found an association between higher pain intensity and higher suicidal ideation, and it did not test any treatment.