Causes of Drug abuse

List of causes of Drug abuse

Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Drug abuse) that could possibly cause Drug abuse includes:

• Psychological disorders - Some people use drug abuse to deny, cope with, or hide an underlying psychological disorder:
  • Depression
  • Schizophrenia
• Myoclonic dystonia - alcohol abuse
• Alcoholism - Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
• Alcohol abuse - alcohol poisoning
• Gulf War syndrome - alcohol abuse
• Austrian syndrome - alcohol abuse
• Female reproductive toxicity - Alcohol - fetal alcohol syndrome
• Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - drug use
• Anorexia Nervosa - laxative abuse
• Stress - alcohol overuse
• Suicide - drug abuse
• Postconcussive syndrome - alcohol intolerance
• Hodgkin's Disease - alcohol intolerance
• Chemical poisoning - Ethylene Glycol - drunkenness
• Cardiomyopathy, Alcoholic - alcohol abuse
• Anorexia nervosa, genetic types - laxative abuse
• Social phobia - drug abuse
• Panic disorder - drug abuse
• Nymphomania - alcoholism
• Bulimia nervosa - laxative abuse
• Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing syndrome - alcohol abuse
• Pregnancy - fetal alcohol syndrome
• Disordered Eating - laxative abuse

More causes: see full list of causes for Drug abuse

Drug abuse as a complication of other conditions:

Other conditions that might have Drug abuse as a complication may, potentially, be an underlying cause of Drug abuse. Our database lists the following as having Drug abuse as a complication of that condition:

• Panic disorder
• Social phobia
• Stress

Drug abuse as a symptom:

Conditions listing Drug abuse as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Drug abuse. Our database lists the following as having Drug abuse as a symptom of that condition:

• Suicide

Medical news summaries relating to Drug abuse:

The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Drug abuse:

• Drug abusers frequently have an undiagnosed mental illness
• Familial bipolar disorder traits dictate disease presentation
• Woman may never see her $400,000 medical malpractice award
• More news »

Related information on causes of Drug abuse:

As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of Drug abuse may be found in:

• Risk factors for Drug abuse
• Hidden causes of Drug abuse

Causes of Drug abuse: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the causes of Drug abuse.

Alcohol-related disorder: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Numerous biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors appear to be involved in alcohol addiction. An offspring of one parent with alcohol-related disorder is seven to eight times more likely to become an alcoholic than is a peer without such a parent. Biological factors may include genetic or biochemical abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, endocrine imbalances, and allergic responses.

Psychological factors may include the urge to drink alcohol to reduce anxiety or symptoms of mental illness; the desire to avoid responsibility in familial, social, and work relationships; and the need to bolster self-esteem.

Sociocultural factors include the availability of alcoholic beverages, group or peer pressure, an excessively stressful lifestyle, and social attitudes that approve of frequent drinking.

More than 15% of American adults have a problem with alcohol use, and about 5% to 10% of male and 3% to 5% of female drinkers are alcohol dependent, accounting for about 12.5 million people. Alcohol-related disorder cuts across all social and economic groups, involves both sexes, and occurs at all stages of the life cycle, beginning as early as elementary school.

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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Substance abuse and induced disorders: Causes
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Psychoactive drug abuse commonly results from a combination of low self-esteem, peer pressure, inadequate coping skills, and curiosity. Most people who are predisposed to drug abuse have few mental or emotional resources against stress, an overdependence on others, and a low tolerance for frustration. Taking the drug gives them pleasure by relieving tension, abolishing loneliness, allowing them to achieve a temporarily peaceful or euphoric state, or simply relieving boredom.

Drug dependence may follow experimentation with drugs in response to peer pressure. It also may follow the use of drugs to relieve physical pain, but this is uncommon.

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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Alcoholism: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Numerous biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors appear to be involved in alcohol addiction. An offspring of one alcoholic parent is seven to eight times more likely to become an alcoholic than is a peer without an alcoholic parent. Biological factors include genetic and biochemical abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, endocrine imbalances, and allergic responses.

Psychological factors include the urge to drink alcohol to reduce anxiety or symptoms of mental illness; the desire to avoid responsibility in family, social, and work relationships; and the need to bolster self-esteem.

Sociocultural factors include the availability of alcoholic beverages, peer pressure, an excessively stressful lifestyle, and social attitudes that approve of frequent drinking.

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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Drug abuse and dependence: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Drug abuse commonly results from a combination of low self-esteem, peer pressure, inadequate coping skills, and curiosity. There is also evidence of familial patterns of addiction.

Most people who are predisposed to drug abuse have few mental or emotional resources against stress, an overdependence on others, and a low tolerance for frustration. Taking the drug gives them pleasure by relieving tension, abolishing loneliness, allowing them to achieve a temporarily peaceful or euphoric state, or simply relieving boredom.

Drug dependence may follow experimentation with drugs in response to peer pressure. It may also follow the use of drugs to relieve physical pain, but this is uncommon.

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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Heroin Intoxication: Heroin Intoxication - pathophysiology
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)

• Well-absorbed from gastrointestinal (GI) tract, nasal mucosa, pulmonary capillaries, and SC and IM injection sites
• Oral dose less potent than parenteral because of 1st-pass hepatic metabolism
• IV heroin peaks in <1 minute; intranasal and IM heroin peak in 3–5 minutes.
• Very lipid soluble; crosses blood–brain barrier within 15–20 seconds
• Extensive distribution into skeletal muscle, kidneys, liver, intestine, lungs, spleen, brain, and placenta
• Rapidly crosses the placenta, entering fetal tissues within 1 hour
• Crosses into breast milk in quantities sufficient to cause addiction
• Excreted in urine as morphine
• Receptor types:
  • Mu (or OPLocated in CNS, GI tract, and sensory nerve endings
  • Effect: Analgesia, euphoria, respiratory depression, physical dependence, GI dysmotility, miosis, pruritus, bradycardia
• Kappa (or OPLocated in CNS
• Effect: Analgesia, miosis, diuresis, dysphoria

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Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008