SynthesisPloS one2014
Chronic pain and mortality: a systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Are adults with chronic pain more likely to develop hypertension than adults without chronic pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Pooled it
- Antidepressants for pain management in adults with chronic pain: a network meta-analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association of Back Pain with Mortality: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cohort Studies.Journal of general internal medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of a Remote Person-Centered Intervention Using an eHealth Platform and Telephone Support for Persons With Chronic Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- Clinical Pain-related Outcomes and Inflammatory Cytokine Response to Pain Following Insomnia Improvement in Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis.The Clinical journal of pain · 2018Trial
- Evaluating the Predictive Value of Pre-procedural Diagnostic Nerve Blocks in Patients Undergoing Cryoneurolysis.Cardiovascular and interventional radiology · 2026Article
- Centralized Pain Diagnoses in Older Adults With and Without Cancer.Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy · 2026Article
- Which is More Predictive of Mortality-Pain Severity or Pain Interference? Evidence from 20-Year Longitudinal Data.The journal of pain · 2026Observational
- A Painful Reality Check? Examining the Accuracy of Subjective Survival Probabilities by Pain Interference and Depression Status.Journal of aging and health · 2026Article
- The Mediating Role of WBC in the Relationship Between Triglyceride-Glucose Index and Chronic Pain: Evidence From NHANES 2001-2004 Data.Pain research & management · 2026Article
- Site-specific pain dynamics: associations between accelerometer-measured physical activity patterns and pain in older adults.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Do Pain and Autonomic Regulation Share a Common Central Compensatory Pathway? A Meta-Analysis of HRV Metrics in Pain Trials.NeuroSci · 2025Review
- Is the relationship between chronic pain and mortality causal? A propensity score analysis.Pain · 2025Article
- Sleep disturbance and multimorbidity: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study in the knee pain and related health in the community cohort.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2025Article
- The impact of an integrative healthcare system on longevity in a nonagenarian population in Northern Mexico: an observational study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- Preliminary Validation of a General Factor Model of Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions.The journal of pain · 2024Article
- Association Between Socioeconomic Inequalities in Pain and All-Cause Mortality in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study: Longitudinal Cohort Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Pain Lowers Subjective Survival Probabilities Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChronic pain is common, often widespread and has a substantial impact on health and quality of life. The relationship between chronic pain and mortality is unclear. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate evidence for a relationship between chronic pain and mortality.
methodsA search of ten electronic databases including EMBASE and MEDLINE was conducted in March 2012, and updated until March 2014. Observational studies investigating the association between chronic or widespread pain (including fibromyalgia) and mortality were included. Risk of bias was assessed and a meta-analysis was undertaken to quantify heterogeneity and pool results. A narrative review was undertaken to explore similarities and differences between the included studies.
resultsTen studies were included in the review. Three reported significant associations between chronic or widespread pain and mortality in unadjusted results. In adjusted analyses, four studies reported a significant association. The remaining studies reported no statistically significant association. A meta-analysis showed statistically significant heterogeneity of results from studies using comparable outcome measures (n = 7)(I2 = 78.8%) and a modest but non-significant pooled estimate (MRR1.14,95%CI 0.95-1.37) for the relationship between chronic pain and all-cause mortality. This association was stronger when analysis was restricted to studies of widespread pain (n = 5,I2 = 82.3%) MRR1.22(95%CI 0.93-1.60). The same pattern was observed with deaths from cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Heterogeneity is likely to be due to differences in study populations, follow-up time, pain phenotype, methods of analysis and use of confounding factors.
conclusionThis review showed a mildly increased risk of death in people with chronic pain, particularly from cancer. However, the small number of studies and methodological differences prevented clear conclusions from being drawn. Consistently applied definitions of chronic pain and further investigation of the role of health, lifestyle, social and psychological factors in future studies will improve understanding of the relationship between chronic pain and mortality.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.