Study Shows Opiate Abuse by Some US Forces with Mental Disorders
March 28, 2012
The case against a U.S. soldier who is accused of killing 17 civilians in Afghanistan has focused attention on the mental health problems some soldiers experience after years of combat. War veterans with a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, were twice as likely to be on high-risk drugs as those with no mental health issues.
The U.S. war in Afghanistan is the longest military conflict in American history. Many of the troops who have fought there also saw combat in Iraq. Doctors say at least one third returned with mental health problems.
Dr. Michael Yochelson was part of a military medical team that assessed returning soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
"I think it's going to be really critical that those personnel are identified and get into therapies quickly," Yochelson said.
But what kind of therapies are most effective? Researchers studied a group of more than 140,000 U.S. military veterans who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2005 and 2010, and who had been prescribed an opioid -- a narcotic -- within a year of getting a pain diagnosis at a veterans' hospital.
Dr. Karen Seal is a co-author of the study. "Veterans who had a mental health diagnosis, but particularly PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) were far more likely than their counterparts without mental health problems to receive opiate pain medication," Seal said.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25