PTSD Study: Vets who received morphine during trauma care half as likely to develop PTSD

Wouldn’t it be nice to stop a disease or chronic mental disorder before it even began?  That is a difficult task when most diseases and chronic, disabling conditions have no specific cause.  Many studies opine as to various factors that can contribute to a condition, but more often than not, researchers cannot pinpoint why certain people develop a certain disorder.  One of the most currently discussed conditions is post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  With more and more soldiers serving multiple tours in combat areas such as Afghanistan and Iraq, the number of those diagnosed with the crippling condition has skyrocketed.  Even the number of people with PTSD who have not served in the armed services has increased.  Most doctors can point to a stressful event or events that triggered the onset of the condition, but after this circumstance occurs there is little that can be done to halt the symptoms.

Attempting to give some hope to those who live with the disorder, a study conducted by the Naval Health Research Center shows that those veterans who received morphine during trauma care were half as likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder as those who did not receive the drug.  The study examined data from six hundred ninety-six service members, of whom two hundred forty-three had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, while four hundred fifty-three did not receive the diagnosis.  The researchers then discovered that of those who had been diagnosed with the disorder, sixty-one percent had received morphine in trauma care.  The percentage that received the morphine and did not develop the condition was approximately seventy-six percent.  This study appears to indicate that those who received morphine during acute trauma care after an injury were about half as likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder as those who did not receive the drug.  The researchers are quick to note, however, that the study did not establish why there was an association between the two – only that one existed.

The military and others in the scientific and medical fields hope that this study spurs additional research into the use of various drugs and opiates after injuries.  Morphine was specifically targeted in this study because it is one of the first drugs administered and prior studies showed a casual link.  If this morphine association is validated by additional studies it will be a great way  to help prevent post traumatic stress disorder from developing, as well as allowing doctors to identify veterans who may be at an increased risk of developing the disorder.