Precription Poisoning Now Second Leading Cause of Unintentional Injury Death

Although celebrities receive the most notoriety for the problem, poisoning by prescription medications is by no means limited to public figures. It is an issue that has become increasingly widespread among the general populace in the United States.

Startling Statistics

Actor Corey Haims, whose death has been attributed to overuse of prescription medications is just another casualty in the statistics which show that unintentional injury death due to overuse or poisoning with prescription medications "has surpassed vehicle crashes" in the 35-54 year old age group (Science Daily).

Dr. Jeffrey H. Coben, researcher, and his colleagues at the West Virginia University School of Medicine studied drug poisonings for the period between 1999 and 2006. The prescription poisonings were of the magnitude that they resulted in hospitalization and sometimes death. The researchers categorized the poisonings as intentional, unintentional, and undetermined (UPI).

Hospitalizations for prescribed medications increased 65 percent during the period researched, with sedatives, tranquilizers and opiates being the medications overused. In this same time period intentional misuse of prescription medications also increased, at the rate of 37 percent.

Their findings lead one researcher to state that prescription drug misuse has reached "epidemic proportions" (UPI).

Method of Research

Dr. Coben and his team obtained their research information from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, data provided by hospitals and representing 8 million hospitalizations each year. From the ICD-9 codes--codes for diagnoses--the research team was able to determine which hospitalizations resulted from prescription misuse and whether such misuse was accidental or purposeful, and sometimes, undetermined.

Further Research

Dr. Coben believes that the information he and his research team gathered and analyzed is only the tip of the iceberg and should result in further research to better examine the issue. Coben's study, which will be published in the May 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveals this statement by the study author, ""Interviews with survivors could provide important additional details regarding the pathways to abuse of these drugs, the methods used to obtain the medications, the sequencing and combination of drugs that result in overdose, and the immediate precursors to these serious events. The association between hospitalization for prescription opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers and subsequent morbidity and mortality is another area in need of further research."

Sources: Science Daily
UPI.com