Pain and Mortality Risk in a Cohort of HIV-Infected Persons with Alcohol Use Disorders

Pain has been associated with increased risk for mortality in some studies. We analyzed data from a cohort study [HIV-longitudinal interrelationships of viruses and ethanol (HIV-LIVE)] of HIV-infected persons with alcohol use disorders enrolled 2001–2003 to explore whether reporting moderate or greater pain interference was associated with mortality. The main independent variable was pain that at least moderately interfered with work based on a single question from the SF-12. Primary analyses dichotomized at “moderately” or above. Cox proportional hazards models assessed the association between pain interference and death adjusting for demographics, substance use, CD4 count, HIV viral load and co-morbidities. Although significant in unadjusted models (HR = 1.58 (95 % CI 1.03–2.41; p value = 0.04)), after adjusting for confounders, ≥moderate pain interference was not associated with an increased risk of death [aHR = 1.30 (95 % CI 0.81–2.11, p value = 0.28)]. Among HIV-infected persons with alcohol use disorders, we did not detect a statistically significant independent association between pain interference and risk of death after adjustment for potential confounders.