The study by Geisinger researchers, published in the Journal of Addictive Diseases, found that criteria for addiction were met by 35 percent of patients undergoing long-term pain therapy with opioids like morphine, OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin.
Addiction to pain medication often occurs in people under 65 who have a history of opioid abuse and of anti-social personality disorder.
Read the Geisinger Health System release on painkiller addiction.
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