From: unk...@googlegroups.com   
      
   January 8, 2014   
      
   Painkiller study helps tackle national headache of legal drugs addiction   
   by Sean Kirby   
      
   Painkiller Study Helps Tackle National Headache Of Legal Drugs Addiction   
      
   MPs have raised concerns about the levels of painkiller addiction in the UK.   
      
   (Medical Xpress)--With MPs now calling for health services to urgently tackle   
   painkiller addiction, a University of Derby study has identified potential   
   triggers which put users at risk of becoming dependent on legal drugs.   
   More than a million people in the UK are believed to be addicted to   
   over-the-counter or prescription painkillers and tranquilisers - substantially   
   more than those addicted to illegal drugs - according to a Home Affairs Select   
   Committee report published    
   last month (December). Politicians want GPs to better record cases, which can   
   even see patients visiting multiple doctors to feed their addiction.   
      
   Now a study by the University of Derby - published in the latest online   
   edition of the journal Pain Medicine - has put forward three key influences   
   which increase the risk of someone becoming a painkiller addict.   
   A team led by Professor James Elander, Head of the Centre for Psychological   
   Research at the University, quizzed 112 people, who had suffered from pain and   
   used painkillers in the previous month, on various aspects of their taking   
   over-the-counter and    
   prescription painkillers.   
      
   The survey, conducted by anonymous online survey over three months, quizzed   
   respondents on the frequency and intensity of the pain they took drugs for,   
   the amount of painkillers they'd consumed in the previous month and   
   psychological factors such as how    
   their pain affected them emotionally, and whether they had previously had a   
   substance abuse problem.   
      
   The study concluded those most at risk of developing painkiller dependence:   
   were more frequent users of painkillers;   
   had a prior history of substance abuse, often unconnected to pain relief;   
   were psychologically less able to cope with and less accepting of pain, and   
   had trouble interpreting their own feelings.   
      
   It is hoped the study's findings could guide further research among the wider   
   population and groups at high risk of pain addiction, with a view to assessing   
   the scale of the problem and tackling it in the way the Government has now   
   called for.   
      
   Professor Elander said: "Painkiller addiction is an important issue which   
   affects large numbers of people with painful chronic conditions.   
      
   "There has been little research into the psychological factors that can lead   
   someone to become painkiller dependent; such as how they think about, and   
   emotionally respond to and deal with, the real pain they feel.   
      
   "Understanding these factors could improve treatment for the individual, and   
   reduce the costs and time spent on medical services.   
      
   "In addition to our new survey the University of Derby also has two PhD   
   students researching different aspects of painkiller addiction, including   
   whether there are cultural variations. In 2012 we also hosted a    
   ulti-disciplinary seminar on the subject of    
   painkiller addiction."   
       
   Explore further: Doctors' group urges tighter controls on prescription   
   painkillers   
      
   Provided by University of Derby     
      
      
   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-01-painkiller-tackle-national   
   headache-legal.html#inlRlv   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)