Posted on 02/22/2022 12:48:16 AM PST by nickcarraway
The illicit use of amphetamines, the stimulants commonly known as speed, is linked to a 5-fold heightened risk of psychosis, finds a 10 year study published online in the journal Evidence-Based Mental Health.
This increased risk was seen across all age groups, but was especially noticeable among women and those who had been arrested several times for possession of the drug, the findings show.
The estimated global prevalence of amphetamine use is less than 1%, but around 1 in 10 users become addicted.
The drug’s impact on neurotransmitter signalling in the brain often causes psychosis, the symptoms of which mimic those of schizophrenia, with paranoia, voices, and hallucinations.
These psychotic episodes usually subside after a few days, but may persist for years in up to 15% of users.
While the link between amphetamine misuse and psychosis has been known for many decades, it’s not clear exactly what the magnitude is of this risk or how effective rehab is at successfully weaning users off the drug.
To try and find out, the researchers drew on information supplied to the Taiwan Illicit Drug Issue Database (TIDID) and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) between 2007 and 2016.
The TDID contains anonymised data on date of birth, sex, arrest records and deferred prosecution for rehabilitation treatment for illicit drug users, while the NHIRD contains anonymised data on mental and physical health issues for the population of Taiwan.
The researchers identified 74,601 illicit amphetamine users and 298,404 people matched for age and sex as a comparison group from these records. Their average age was 33 and most (84%) were men.
Compared with those who weren’t using, illicit amphetamine users had poorer health: depression (2% vs 0.4%); anxiety (0.9% vs 0.3%); ischaemic heart disease (1.3% vs 0.8%); cardiovascular disease (0.8% vs 0.45%); and stroke (1.3% vs 0.7%).
By the end of the 10 year monitoring period, amphetamine users were more than 5 times as likely to experience psychosis than those who weren’t using after accounting for age, sex, and coexisting health issues.
The annual cumulative incidence rates for psychosis among the comparison group and amphetamine users were 77 and 468/100,000 people, respectively.
The number of new cases of psychosis was similar across all age brackets, but was more common in the amphetamine users among those aged 45 and above.
While the likelihood of psychosis increased in tandem with the number of coexisting conditions, overall, it was higher among illicit amphetamine users without coexisting conditions, suggesting a direct impact of amphetamine on inducing psychotic symptoms, say the researchers.
The risk of psychosis rose in tandem with the number of arrests, and fell when patients received psychotherapy for their addiction (rehab).
Those who had been arrested 5 or more times were more than 6 times as likely to experience psychosis, while users who went to rehab during deferred prosecution were 26% less likely to experience psychosis than those who didn’t.
This suggests that rehab may help to stave off the risk of subsequent psychosis, say the researchers.
In line with previous research, illicit amphetamine use in this study was associated with greater levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as cardiovascular complications.
“Because persistent psychotic symptoms could represent a risk for cognitive decline in amphetamine users, identifying [those] with psychosis and providing treatment early might prevent subsequent damage of cognitive functions,” write the researchers.
But rehab is voluntary, and only offered to around 1 in 10 users, they point out.
By way of an explanation for the gender discrepancy observed, the researchers suggest that the detrimental impact of amphetamines on behaviour might be enhanced by the presence of oestrogen.
“Another possibility is that women arrested for illicit amphetamine use were particularly disadvantaged in comparison with men, with higher levels of trauma, lack of psychosocial support and stigma,” they add.
This is an observational study, and as such, can’t establish cause, nor was it possible for the researchers to quantify addiction as there were no validated measures of dose, frequency, amount of use or severity of dependence in the TIDID.
Illicit amphetamine use could also precipitate and aggravate schizophrenic symptoms, so it’s possible that amphetamine induces rather than causes the psychotic symptoms seen in amphetamine users, point out the researchers.
They conclude: “The relation of an induced paranoid psychosis with amphetamine abuse has been known for many decades. None the less, our findings are from a detailed and comparative analysis using a comprehensive and large population dataset.
“Furthermore, it would be worthwhile to investigate the health benefits and cost effectiveness of deferred prosecution for drug crime offenders by providing appropriate therapy for drug addiction.”
Thanks to Brandon, we need a law immediately that bans amphetamine users from having nuclear launch codes.
What’s the difference between illicit amphetamine users and ppl who are legally prescribed amphetamines, like myself?
This would explain 81m Brandon voters especially the imaginary ones.
Illicit users don’t follow a dose determined by a doctor and the product can be dirty and cut to unknown purity.
They are also more likely to smoke or inject stimulants which sends an immediate high dose to the brain. More damaging and addictive
I thought this was well-established fact...
It is a fact, just now it has a metadata study to back up the fact once again. Science being inherently repetitive to confirm what is knows as facts. With how sloppy the biological research has been since 1990, it is good thing to do, validate the science and when dealing with humans validate the treatment to some extent farther than beef cattle management.
Those who had been arrested 5 or more times were more than 6 times as likely to experience psychosis.
Violent Criminals are more likely to take drugs to keep the abusing society party rolling or drugs are more likely to lead to events with law enforcement? Both are more than true, having the courts figure this out is very expensive. How about sending the low end users to treatment once missues is discovered and on the second offence file the user as a criminal and treat him/her like them. I call it the “one fuck up on speed” rule.
I don’t dispute anything you said. My post was actually tongue-in-cheek.
Nothing has changed.
“...but was especially noticeable among women...”
Psychotic women? Isn’t there a chart about that?
What it is speed prescribed for?
Lol, I believe there is…
Presumably you are under the care of a doctor who can monitor monitor the continued safethe continued safety of what hes prescribing you..
Hmmmm. Those who aren’t keen to the details will see that this ‘study’ originates out of China.
Furthermore, it omits any mention whatsoever of the epidemic of meth-fueled psychosis not from months/years of use, but mere days/weeks due to new toxicity. This is a fairly recent, but hardly ‘new’ trend.
In consideration of the origin of much of the fentanyl and this new trend of toxic meth - plus the omission of study by the paper’s authors - lends one to suspect if, like the fentanyl, the toxic meth has overseas formulation.
Very, very curious.
Indeed, you're right!
Remember... Do you have a monkey on your back?
Today big pharma gives bad drugs along with bad advice. The 1970's pusher had more credibility in their business.
/s
“But what happened in the skies over Kandahar on the night of April 17, would change Schmidt and Umbach’s lives forever and would bring about their facing a court martial.
‘Go Pills’”
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