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ADHD medications are often in the news because someone overdosed on these drugs, either accidentally or on purpose. ADHD drugs are commonly abused, especially by students and those who want to stay awake for longer periods of time. Some researchers are now saying that some of the benefits provided by ADHD medications may be overlooked, and one of these benefits could be a reduction in the number of suicides and attempts at suicide. The latest research on these drugs and their use can be found in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The black box warnings found on ADHD medications can be confusing, and University of Montreal and CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal researchers teamed up to identify the risks and consequences including the suicide risk that may be associated with these drugs.
One of the authors of the study on ADHD medications and suicide risk was Dr. Alain Lesage, who stated “Health Canada has issued a series of black-box warnings about the suicidal potential of ADHD medications. However, these warnings have failed to take into account epidemiological studies showing the opposite, that increased use of this medication has been associated with reduced suicide risk in adolescents.” Study co-author and scientific researcher Dr. Edouard Kouassi wrote that “Clearly, the increased use of ADHD drugs indicates that they might actually reduce rather than augment the risk of suicide.” The study authors also concluded that “Randomized controlled trials have shown ADHD medication to alleviate the usual symptoms of hyperactivity and attention deficit. It has also been associated with improvements in school performance, better self-esteem, and reductions in conduct disorders, drug abuse, and pregnancies in girls. In fact, these disorders or precarious social situations are especially associated with increased risk of suicide, not the actual taking of these drugs, which, on the contrary, may prevent suicide.”
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Researchers have found that teen gambling is associated with other risky behaviors that include substance abuse like tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Gambling covers everything from scratch off lottery tickets to video poker games to table games and slot machines inside casinos. The research results were published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. The study involved over 1,300 children in grades 6 through 8 in Italian schools, and all of the participants were in an underage substance abuse prevention program. The students answered questions about personal gambling experiences and types, and also questions about their experiences with substance abuse. University of Padova, Italy, researcher Dr. Alessandra Buja explained that the close link between substance abuse and gambling “provides further evidence of the need for a greater awareness of gambling behavior in early adolescence.”
According to Dr. Buja and the co-authors of the study paper “Today’s youth are the first generation for whom gambling opportunities are as close as the neighborhood corner store and as easily accessible as the Internet. Our data show that a history of gambling is associated with risk-taking behavior relating to the use of other substances in very young adolescents. Impulsiveness may be an important common denominator linking gambling with substance abuse in adolescence. It is important for healthcare professionals, teachers, and parents to recognize this problem and take it seriously.” Children and teens who gamble are also more likely to engage in substance abuse, but the connection could be linked to the level of impulse control in the individual and that has not been determined yet.
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Methamphetamine use during pregnancy is a very big problem in North America and it can have a profound impact on the child while still in the womb. Researchers have determined that nearly 25% of women who sought treatment for substance abuse at a federal facility while pregnant needed help for methamphetamine use. Using this drug during pregnancy can cause many problems for the children exposed in the uterus, and they can develop emotional and behavioral problems that can be very severe at times. Research does show that a supportive environment in the home can be beneficial for children who had this exposure though, and this step could improve the outcome considerably. The newest research will be published in The Journal of Pediatrics at a future date, and it concluded that behavioral problems caused by exposure to methamphetamine use during pregnancy could be managed better or even minimized when the home environment was supportive.
Methamphetamine use during pregnancy can lead to children who develop severe issues, and these behavioral issues can become a vicious cycle if not treated early on. Providing a supportive environment in the home can help avoid a negative outcome and provide the support that these children need to develop control over their behaviors and emotions. Researcher Lynne M. Smith, M.D. and the leading study author noted that “In the first study of its kind, we followed children, who experienced prenatal methamphetamine exposure, up to the age of 7.5 years and found that adversities, such as poverty and continued drug abuse by a parent, contributed to behavioral and emotional control issues. While additional study is needed, these findings indicate that providing a supportive home life for children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure would reduce their behavioral and emotional control issues.”
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The latest research on mental health disorders and a full recovery offers some hope for anyone who struggles with mental illness. The researchers concluded that 4 out of 10 Canadians who were previously depressed and suicidal have done a complete turn around and have reached a full recovery. These individuals no longer have any suicidal thoughts, any substance abuse has been stopped, and they experience no signs of mental illness. These patients also reported having a high level of daily satisfaction with their current lives. University of Toronto Ph. D student and lead study author Philip Baiden explained “We found that among formerly suicidal individuals, those who have someone they could confide in were seven times more likely to have complete mental health, after adjusting for potential confounders.”
Studies have shown that support can lessen mental health disorders, and a strong support system is a must for a full recovery from mental illness when this goal is possible. Researcher and study co-author Dr. Esme Fuller-Thomson stated “Our findings provide a hopeful message for those in the depths of despair and their loved ones,. Long-term recovery goals should be not limited to mere remission from suicidal thoughts. A large minority of suicidal individuals can achieve a high level of happiness and complete mental health.” In order to perform the study a representative sample of data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health from Statistics Canada was examined. Patients who also struggled with chronic pain, insomnia, and substance abuse did not fare as well in achieving a full recovery.
