The annual rate of hospitalizations as a result of poisoning from prescription opioids more than doubled between 1997 and 2012 among children aged 1 to 19, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.
The starkest increase was found among the youngest. Children between the ages of 1 and 4 saw hospitalizations rise by 205% over the study period. Heroin poisonings among teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 rose by 161%, while overdoses from methadone increased by 950%.
“Hospitalizations increased across all age groups, yet young children and older adolescents were most vulnerable to the risks of opioid exposure,” the study concluded. “Mitigating these risks will require comprehensive strategies that target opioid storage, packaging and misuse.”
The findings appear to mirror the trend among U.S. adults. The hospitalization rate for adults from overusing painkillers went up by more than 150% between 1993 and 2012, according to a 2014 study by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Overdoses among young people and adults shared a number of traits. The proportion of young males affected went up dramatically, making up nearly half of adolescent hospitalizations for opioid poisoning in 2012 compared to 34% in 1997.
Also, the vast majority of opiate hospitalizations affected white patients, who accounted for nearly three-quarters of all cases among adolescents, according to the study. Heroin use among white adults increased by 114% between 2004 and 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while use among nonwhite adults remained relatively flat during the same period.
The cost to treat addicts has driven a rise in overall medical spending. A Health Affairs analysis published in May showed that from 2002 to 2012, the number of hospitalizations related to opioid abuse went from 301,707 to 520,275, with inpatient charges estimated at reaching $15 billion.
