The link between military participation and prescription drug abuse is unknown, but the study, conducted by the Department of Defense via survey, showed it may be connected to the type of service and whether or not the participants had used prescription painkillers in the past year.

The survey looked at the medication use of nearly 29,000 participants. Results showed that military personnel use of prescribed medications for recreation or to get a rush jumped seven percent between 2005 and 2008. The rate has been climbing gradually, as data from 2002 showed the level of inappropriate use of prescribed medications doubled between 2002 and 2005.

In the study, misuse of prescribed medications included taking more than is prescribed for a product, and prescription painkillers showed the highest rate of inappropriate use – with 17 percent of participants saying they had misused these drugs. In second ranking were sedatives, followed by stimulants.

By sector, military personnel who had experienced combat or were in training for combat seemed to show the highest rates of inappropriate use for prescribed medications. Nearly half of participants who reported abusing painkillers were in the army (47 percent), as were half of the participants who said they had misused sedatives, tranquilizers or stimulants.

Participants’ risk for abusing painkillers was higher if they had used the drugs within the past 30 days or within the past 12 months. For stimulants, the risk was higher if random drug testing wasn’t performed, and if the person had used a prescription for painkillers within the past month or past 12 months.

Researchers will continue additional studies on inappropriate prescription drug use in the military, but believe the survey results should prompt enhanced services toward treatment for symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. They also noted that efforts should more aggressively address the symptoms of long-term physical pain, which is frequently reported among current personnel and veterans.

A couple of months later, the woman’s back is recovered, but she has a new problem. Over the few days that her back was bothering her, she discovered other areas of her body felt better with ibuprofen, too. Before long, she found that she could not go without it.

A recent study examined the growing problem of self-medication with household painkillers turning into an addiction. The study revealed that in addition to dealing with an addiction, individuals who use household painkillers excessively can encounter a host of health problems.

The study, conducted by Matthew Frei and colleagues at Monash University’s School of Psychology and Psychiatry, is significant because it highlights the many dangers associated with using household painkillers in ways other than directed by doctors.

The researchers examined the cases of 27 people admitted to hospitals due to an addiction to codeine and ibuprofen-based painkillers. The researchers specifically focused on the medication Nurofen Plus. The patients sought treatment for addiction to opioids, and the participants had a mean dose range of between 34 and 47 tablets daily.

The medications carry many side effects that can be exasperated when using the medication other than directed. The side effects include gastrointestinal ruptures, renal failure, anemia and severe hypokalaemia. Hypokalaemia is a condition caused by low potassium in the blood due to an irregular heartbeat or paralysis.

The researchers found that the majority of the participants had used the drugs initially as a treatment for a minor condition, such as back pain or headaches.

The researchers suggested that pharmacy personnel should be trained to evaluate the risk of misuse before dispensing painkillers to consumers or selling a combination of analgesic products.

In addition, healthcare providers have an opportunity to talk with patients about the dangers of addiction to household painkillers. When patients are examined for a minor ache or pain, the doctor can take time to educate the patient about dosage and appropriate use of painkillers.
 

For some mothers, this level of depression leads to thoughts of suicide. Science Daily recently posted a release covering the findings of a two-year study by Ruth Paris, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice at Boston University’s School of Social Work, Rendelle E. Bolton, a graduate student at the BU School of Social Work and M. Katherine Weinberg, Ph.D., a psychologist and an infant development specialist.

Researchers found that in situations where the woman is contemplating taking her own life, the mother-infant relationship and development is a negative experience. She has greater mood disturbances, cognitive distortions, low maternal self-esteem, negative perceptions of her effectiveness as a new parent and noticeably less responsiveness to her infant’s cues.

In a study of 32 new mothers, 53 percent, or 17 of the mothers, made up the high suicidal group. Women within this group were experiencing more sleep and eating problems as well as greater severity in overall struggles that can be attributed to postpartum depression.

Those women in the suicidal group had poorer self esteem and felt they were less prepared for mothering. As a result, these women expected a poor relationship with their infants.

At the same time, the infants of suicidal mothers exhibited less positive behavior in the form of fewer smiles and more fussing. According to the study, "Infants of highly suicidal mothers were somewhat more passive and less engaged in the interactions.”

"These mothers… were also feeling more anxious, emotionally labile, mentally confused, had experienced a greater loss of self and felt greater guilt about their experience.”
 

A recent Science Daily report examined the findings of researchers working with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans that suggest post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased risk for thoughts of suicide.

Those veterans who screened positive for PTSD were as much as four times more likely to report suicide-related thoughts compared to veterans without the disorder. The research establishes PTSD as a risk factor for thoughts of suicide in Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

Researchers also determined this holds true even after accounting for other psychiatric disorder diagnoses, such as substance abuse and depression. Those veterans screening positive for PTSD and two or more co morbid mental disorders were significantly more likely to experience thoughts of suicide compared with veterans struggling with PTSD alone.

Of those veterans participating in the study, 46 percent experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors in the month prior to seeking care. Of these 46 percent, three percent reported an actual attempt on their own life within four months prior to seeking care.

Researchers have determined that suicide-related thoughts and behaviors discovered in a returning veteran who has been diagnosed with PTSD, especially in the presence of other mental disorders, may suggest an increased risk for suicide. Such individuals should be kept under close medical care as they can present a risk to themselves.