A new research has discovered that hospitalizations caused by accidental and intentional abuse of prescription sedatives, tranquilizers and other painkilling drugs has registered a steep climb over the last decade.

Kentucky and Ohio health officials posted that the rising figures are largely on account of big rises in prescription-drug abuse and deaths. But some experts believe even those rising death numbers don't reflect the full reality.

However, the main prescription-drug problem until recently was not recognized, a 2008 study conducted for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uncovered.

In 2007, 1,351 unintentional drug overdoses were reported in Ohio, posted to be the leading reason of injury deaths, outracing vehicle crashes and suicides.

The figures reveal that from 1999 through 2008, Ohio's rate of accidental poisonings registered a rise of 325 percent, while traffic deaths plunged by 14 percent.

Of those, 94.7 percent cases were due to poisonings due to drugs and alcohol, according to the Ohio Department of Health.