A government study released in March shows that many painkillers given to war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder often lead to addiction.<\/p>\n
Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and came back from war with PTSD were twice as likely to be given prescriptions for painkillers that have proven to be addictive compared to vets with only physical pain, according to the study. <\/p>\n
Caregivers were approximately four times more likely to give the drugs to veterans with PTSD and a history of problems with substance abuse.<\/p>\n
The study was paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs and it was based on the VA\u2019s data. It was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.<\/p>\n
All of the veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq who were diagnosed with physical pain between October of 2005 and December of 2010 were involved in the study, which equals 141,029 servicemen and servicewomen.<\/p>\n