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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Burn Injury-Induced Pain and Depression-Like Behavior in Mice
Published on: September 29, 2021
Severe pain predicts greater likelihood of subsequent suicide
Mark A Ilgen1, Kara Zivin, Karen L Austin
1VA Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research and Evaluation Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. marki@umich.edu
Abstract:
Using data from the 1999 Large Health Survey of Veterans, Veterans Affairs' medical records, and the National Death Index (N = 260,254), the association between self-reported pain severity and suicide among veterans as examined, after accounting for demographic variables and psychiatric diagnoses. A Cox proportional hazards regression demonstrated that veterans with severe pain were more likely to die by suicide than patients experiencing none, mild, or moderate pain (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.15, 1.54), after controlling for demographic and psychiatric characteristics. These results indicate that pain evaluations should be included in comprehensive suicide assessments and suicide prevention efforts.
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