Common painkillers and anti-anxiety medication have been linked to an increased risk in homicide, UPI reported.
Finnish researchers found that people who took opiate painkillers and anti-inflammatory painkillers had the highest risk for committing homicide at 95 and 223 percent, respectively. Antidepressants only slightly increased the risk of homicide.
"I think that these chemical substances affect the impulse control of the person," Dr. Jari Tiihonen, lead author and a professor, told Medical Daily. "The only surprising result was that painkillers also increase the risk."
For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from nearly 960 people convicted of homicide between the years 2003 and 2011. They focused on the pre-crime use of prescription drugs.
They found that the use of antidepressants were associated with a 31 percent elevated risk of homicide, while the use of benzodiazepines raised that risk to 45 percent.
"Benzodiazepines can weaken impulse control, and earlier research has found that painkillers affect emotional processing. Caution in prescribing benzodiazepines and strong painkillers to people with a history of substance abuse is advisable," Tiihonen said in a press release.
There has been plenty of debate over whether psychotropic drugs can cause violent behavior. This debate has been fuelled by massacres committed by young persons in schools and other public places in the US and in Finland, too.
"It has been repeatedly claimed that it was the anti-depressants used by the persons who committed these massacres that triggered their violent behavior. It is possible that the massive publicity around the subject has already affected drug prescription practices," Tiihonen said.
The findings are detailed in the journal World Psychiatry.
