Depression and anxiety contribute to opioid abuse, study suggests

Depression and anxiety contribute to opioid abuse, study suggests

Advances in the field of neuroscience have shown how changing a person's way of thinking can alter their perception of pain. In addition to the usual risk factors, other factors such as tissue damage, psychology and environment play an important role in determining a person's perception of pain. The development of new, innovative and improved medications to treat acute or chronic pain, commonly marketed as prescription opioids, has helped people overcome all types of pain.

Mental disorders such as anxiety disorders and depression uniquely add a range of unpleasant emotional feelings that tend to exacerbate physical pain. These disorders strongly determine the way pain is experienced, suggesting that mood disorders, particularly depression and anxiety, can worsen pain and alter a person's thoughts, behaviors, and quality of life.

Due to worsening pain, adults with such mood disorders are prescribed a variety of prescription pain medications. This ever-growing trend has raised concerns due to the close relationship between opioid abuse and mental disorders. This requires careful reflection on the types of medications people are prescribed.

51% of prescriptions go to adults with mental disorders

A study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine suggests that adults with anxiety and depression consume excessive amounts of prescription pills. The study by researchers at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the University of Michigan was published at a time when the problem of opioid addiction is very intense in the United States.

Although the prevalence of mental disorders in adults is only 16 percent, they consume about half of all prescription opioids. This highlights a major gap in the distribution of prescription painkillers, particularly among people suffering from mood disorders. Of the 115 million prescriptions filled for opioids each year, 60 million are for people with mental illness. This is quite eye-opening data that requires appropriate remedial action.

Brian Sites, professor of anesthesiology and orthopedics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and lead author of the study, said: "Pain that you might report as a two out of 10, someone with mental disorders - depression, anxiety - may report as a 10 out of 10."

While prescription opioids might improve depressive symptoms in the short term, people with depression are more likely to experience increased pain and be less able to cope. As a result, individuals with mental disorders are more likely to turn to the doctor for more opioids.

Doctors could be tricked into prescribing more painkillers

To determine the prevalence of prescription dependence among people with anxiety and depression, the study used national surveys from 2011 and 2013. Respondents provided information about their health and medication. Based on the data and responses, researchers found that over 7 million of 38.6 million people with anxiety and depression are prescribed opioids each year. The results suggest that adults with mental disorders are more likely to use prescription opioids (18.7 percent) than mentally healthy adults (5 percent).

The study also sheds light on how doctors can be coerced into prescribing opioids for people with anxiety and depression. In most cases, opioids are administered for a number of reasons, such as: B. due to injuries, physical pain and recovery from surgery. However, due to the strong euphoric effects of these drugs, there is a great risk of developing addiction in a very short period of time.

Because mental disorders and drug use have a notorious affinity for one another, it can be an arduous task for doctors to accurately assess a patient's pain level. Sometimes even well-meaning doctors are prone to prescribing painkillers while being empathetic towards their patients. In addition, almost half of all opioids are prescribed by a family doctor, who is no stranger to people with mental disorders.

Dealing with addiction

Opioid addiction has hit the United States hard. However, it also appears that opioid abuse collides with the increased prevalence of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety disorders, which exacerbate opioid abuse. These two disorders also tend to coexist in many cases, which can lead to more complicated diagnosis of co-occurring disorders.

Inspired by Barbara Odozi