LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A social scientist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will examine cocaine and methamphetamine addiction and related mental illnesses in rural populations in the Arkansas Delta, Appalachia in Kentucky, and Ohio thanks to a new federal grant of $6.1 million.

Crimes involving synthetic narcotics, principally methamphetamines, are increasing in rural areas around the nation. For example, according to the national Uniform Crime Reporting System, between and , the annual number of arrests in St. Francis County, Ark., increased from seven to 106. During the same period, arrests in Crittenden County, Ark., increased from eight to 80. Statewide, the arrests increased from 1,317 in to 2,172 in .

"The issues are different than in urban areas, where drug treatment may be a few blocks or a bus ride away," according to Brenda M. Booth, PhD. "Drug abuse, particularly of stimulants such as 'meth' and cocaine, is an exploding problem in rural America. To prevent and treat drug addiction in rural areas, we need to understand how difficult it is to get drug treatment in rural areas and whether people who use drugs in rural areas have any medical care available."

Booth will study how rural users of stimulant drugs, including methamphetamine ("meth") and cocaine, obtain health care and drug abuse treatment; what other assistance, such as housing or employment, they need; and whether they have related mental illnesses. Booth received the grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Over three years, Booth and her research team will interview 450 stimulant users in Arkansas and Kentucky several times, comparing the drug users' experiences to those in a related study by Wright State University in Ohio.

Her research is expected to lead to improvements in organization and delivery of health care, particularly preventive care, so that fewer rural residents become addicted to illegal drugs.

According to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, using methamphetamine and amphetamine can cause addiction, psychotic behavior, and brain damage. Withdrawal symptoms include depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression, and intense cravings. Chronic users can behave violently and suffer from anxiety, confusion, insomnia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, delusions, and paranoia. The drugs also can cause permanent brain damage with symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and epilepsy.

A biostatistician, Booth specializes in healthcare for individuals with substance abuse and mental health disorders. She has previously focused on problem drinking and marijuana use in rural as well as urban areas of the South and on the outcomes for persons with cocaine use and chest pain who come to hospital emergency rooms.

Booth is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the UAMS College of Medicine and in the Department of Biostatistics in the UAMS College of Public Health. She is interim director of the Centers for Mental Healthcare Research in the psychiatry department. She also is a research health scientist at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

Source: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences