Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Psychotropic medications may cut risk of violent reoffending

Research

A study by the University of Oxford, looking at rates of violent re-offences among former prisoners in Sweden, has shown that prescribing psychotropic medications can cut the risk of violent reoffending.

© spring23 - Shutterstock

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Prescribing ex-prisoners psychotropic medications after release is associated with a decrease in reoffending, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford.

The researchers looked at released prisoners from across Sweden between 2005 and 2010, who were prescribed antipsychotics, psychostimulants and drugs for addictive disorders, and followed until end of 2013. By comparing the periods when they were and were not prescribed these medications, the researchers were able to show a drop in the rate of violent reoffending while they were receiving treatment.

Read more

Similar stories

Five ways the pandemic has affected routine medical care

Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID has infected at least a third of the UK population and is estimated to have factored in the deaths of almost 200,000 people in the UK. But critically, COVID has also had a devastating impact on our healthcare systems. While this was expected, new evidence is beginning to reveal the scope of the issue – in particular the effects for people living with long-term health conditions.

Clinical trials for a malaria vaccine start in Mali and Indonesia

Sanaria Inc. announced that two new Phase 2 trials of its pioneering malaria vaccines have started. The first is in 6- to 10-year-old children living in Bancoumana, Mali, a malarious region of West Africa. The second is in Indonesian soldiers based in Sumatra, Indonesia. The soldiers will be deploying for six to nine months this coming August to an intensely malarious district in eastern Indonesia.

Mechanism of expanding bacteria revealed

A new study published in Nature has identified a potential Achilles heel in the protective layers surrounding Gram-negative bacteria that could aid in the development of next-generation antibiotics.

Discovery of gene involved in chronic pain creates new treatment target

Oxford researchers have discovered a gene that regulates pain sensitisation by amplifying pain signals within the spinal cord, helping them to understand an important mechanism underlying chronic pain in humans and providing a new treatment target.

Oxford's largest ever study into Varicose veins shows need for surgery is linked to genetics

A new international study by Oxford researchers published in Nature Communications establishes for the first time, a critical genetic risk score to predict the likelihood of patients suffering with Varicose veins to require surgery, as well as pointing the way towards potential new therapies.

Biological processes of ageing is key to improving later life health

Improvements in health care, sanitation, and diet over last 100 years have significantly increased life expectancy. However, this increase in how long we can expect to live has not been accompanied by a similar increase in healthy life expectancy, defined as the time spent free of major illness or disease.