Opioid Abuse Linked to Mental Health Disorders
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently published a report on the link between opioid abuse and mood and anxiety disorders. The study was recently highlighted in the Journal of Psychological Medicine. Their results determined that those who suffer from common disorders such as panic disorder, bipolar and depression often have used non-medical opioids.
Opioid abuse and mood and anxiety disorders are reciprocally destructive. Research shows that people with mood and anxiety disorders often abuse non-medical opioids, and that people who abuse non-medical opioids tend to develop mood and anxiety disorders.
Opioids are prescribed to treat chronic and acute pain. But opioids, like OxyContin, are increasingly finding their way into the hands of people who do not have prescriptions for the drug, or who are taking more than recommended in order to keep up with their addiction to the drug. Because of this, opioids rank just behind marijuana as the second most frequently used illegal drug in America, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Dr. Silvia Martins, an associate scientist with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Mental Health, led the study. She and her team used data from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to study participants who suffered from mood and anxiety disorders and their connection to the use of non-medical prescription opioids.
The NESARC study was conducted from 2001-2002 and from 2004-2005 to assess adults, age 18 and over, for psychiatric disorders. Participants were personally interviewed about psychiatric disorders they had experienced throughout their lives.
After analyzing their research, Dr. Martins concluded that those who suffer from mood and anxiety disorders might turn to non-medical opioids for relief. Opioids would temporarily block the pain, but could ignite a future addiction to a potentially harmful drug.
On the flip side, Carla Storr, an adjunct professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Mental Health, cautions that those who abuse opioids may develop mood or anxiety disorders.
Drug addiction causes long-term harm physically, mentally, and emotionally. Even when an individual tries to break free from their addiction, drug withdrawal often causes stress. This anxiety can transform into a mood disorder that combats the physical, mental, and emotional healing of the patient.
Dr. Martins stresses that health care providers could help those who suffer from mood disorders before they feel the urge to seek medicine by themselves. She also supports the need for more research to assess genetic or environmental connections between those who suffer from both mood disorders and opioid abuse.
Through early identification, therapy, support, and treatment, patients could find the support, strength, and relief they need without falling into a life of addiction to prescription drugs.
