[ad_1]
A report from Yale University researchers found that nearly 9,000 children and adolescents died of opioid poisoning in the past 18 years. Most deaths involving children are caused by accidental consumption of narcotics, both because of prescription and illegally. ( Pixabay )
The opioid crisis in the United States has claimed the lives of nearly 9,000 children from 1999 to 2016, according to findings from researchers from Yale University.
The number of deaths has tripled over the past 18 years, suggesting that this problem is likely to continue unless legislators and public health officials can disrupt and keep drugs out of the hands of children.
Alarming reports published on Journal of the American Medical Association.
Death from Accident due to Opioid Poisoning
The researchers analyzed the Multiple Cause of Death file from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify deaths caused by poisoning from both prescription and prohibited opioids from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2016. They found the majority of deaths, about 80 percent, were not intentional. Young children and adolescents have died after accidentally ingesting the drug.
Meanwhile, about 5 percent of opioid-related deaths are caused by suicide. Teens die after they overdose ingesting their parents' prescription painkillers or from narcotics purchased illegally on the street.
About 2 percent of deaths come from murder. Nearly a quarter of cases involving children under the age of 5 are victims of murder. About 35 percent of that involved children under 1.
From 2014 to 2016, synthetic opioids were the leading cause of death among older teens. Heroin, a synthetic opioid, accounts for 24 percent of teenage deaths between the ages of 15 and 19.
Saving Young People From Opioid Problems
Although doctors have begun to change their prescription habits, Julie Gaither, an instructor at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study, warns that the number of deaths associated with opioids continues to increase as more teens are addicted to heroin and fentanyl. . Older teens are most at risk of dying from opioids, which constitute 88 percent of the total deaths during the study period.
"This death does not reach the death rate of adults due to opioids, but they follow the same pattern, "Gainer said." As we consider how to overcome this epidemic, parents, doctors and recipes need to consider how children and adolescents are affected and how our families and communities are affected. "
Marc Fishman, a psychiatrist and professor of addiction from Johns Hopkins University, added to USA Today that young people are also less likely to seek treatment compared to adults. He warned that this might make tracking problems much more challenging.
Gainer suggested that extra safety measures should be taken to keep the drug away from the hands of children. Researchers say that packaging prescription narcotics such as Suboxone can be prevented by children can prevent death.
Parents also need to make sure to dispose of pills that are not used properly and to lock prescription drugs in places where children cannot accidentally drink them.
Ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
[ad_2]
Source link