The overdose death rate among American teenagers has almost doubled in 2020, compared to the previous ten years.
- Cases of anxiety and depression are up 25% worldwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization
- The authors find that this increase in overdose deaths is particularly significant among Latinos and whites.
- Fentanyl has an analgesic potential 100 times more powerful than that of morphine.
The Covid-19 pandemic has multiple consequences. Several studies have shown that the mental health of the population deteriorated during the months of confinement and reduction of social interactions. In the specialist journal JAMA, researchers show that it could also have had consequences on the addictive behavior of adolescents. They observe a significant increase in the number of overdose deaths in this age category in 2020. The study carried out is purely observational, it does not make it possible to prove a causal link.
An exponential increase in deaths linked to overdoses
The researchers used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) database to calculate the number of drug overdose deaths per 100,000 population among adolescents aged 14 to 18 between January 2010 to June 2021. They found 518 deaths, or a rate of 2.4 per 100,000, among adolescents in 2010, and a constant rate of 2.36 deaths per 100,000 people for each subsequent year through 2019 In 2020, they count 954 deaths or a rate of 4.57 per 100,000, rising to 1,146 deaths or 5.49 deaths per 100,000 people, at the start of 2021.”This is the first time in history that the drug-related death rate among adolescents has increased exponentially, even as rates of illicit drug use among adolescents are at an all-time low.”explains the main author of this research Joseph Friedman, researcher in addiction.
counterfeit pills
However, the scientist notes that consumers are not more numerous, it is the practices that are at risk. “Drug use is becoming more dangerous, not more common.”, he summarizes. According to him, this increase in the number of overdose deaths is mainly due to counterfeit pills, which “are spreading all over the country“.”Teenagers may not realize they’re dangerous.”, notes the researcher. The main counterfeit prescription drugs are: Fentanyl, Xanax, Percocet and Vicodin. “Teenagers urgently need to be informed of this growing danger“, warns Joseph Friedman. He suggests doing prevention in schools, in order to warn adolescents that “pills and powders pose the highest risk of overdose because they are most likely to contain illicit Fentanyl”. Pills and powders can be tested for the presence of Fentanyl using test strips, which are becoming more widely available. It is also important to tell them about naloxone, the main antidote for opioid overdose.
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