Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to be prescribed opioid pain killers than other veterans with pain problems and more likely to use the opioids in risky ways, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study also found that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans prescribed opioids—and particularly those with PTSD—had a higher prevalence of “adverse clinical outcomes,” like overdoses and self-inflicted injuries. The study raises new concerns that primary care doctors, the main prescribers of opioids to veteran, are not always following government guidelines intended to restrict opioid pain therapy for veterans with PTSD and other mental health diagnoses.
