2022 in review: The year in pediatric substance use
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We compiled a list of stories involving substance use and children that were published in 2022.
The stories include one about a recent spike in fentanyl deaths among teens, and another about how pediatricians can address substance use. Read our coverage below.
Fentanyl-involved deaths increase 182% among adolescents, study finds
Deaths involving fentanyl in people aged 10 to 19 years increased by 182% from 2019 to 2021, according to researchers. Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told Healio that the increase was primarily due to contamination and to teenagers purchasing supposed name-brand pills at street level. Read more.
Three ways pediatricians can tackle the opioid epidemic head on
In a plenary address at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition, Scott E. Hadland, MD, MPH, division chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Massachusetts General for Children and Harvard Medical School, discussed how primary care physicians can combat the opioid epidemic in their practices. Read more.
Daily e-cigarette use among teens ‘seemed to accelerate’ after 2017
Jonathan P. Winickoff, MD, MPH, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, told Healio that he saw large numbers of patients in his practice “extremely addicted” to e-cigarettes — prompting him to investigate the issue further. Read more.
More than 3 million middle, high school students report tobacco use
The 2022 edition of the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which gathered responses from students at 341 public and private schools from January through May, found that 3.08 million students reported use of a tobacco product in the last 30 days, representing almost one in nine students. Read more.
Rate of teen overdose deaths soared during pandemic, study finds
According to research published in JAMA, overdose deaths among teens nearly doubled in 2020 and rose another 20% in the first half of 2021 compared with the decade before the pandemic, in which teen drug use fell to historic lows. Read more.
Post-surgery opioid prescriptions decline for children, teens
Post-surgery opioid prescribing for children and teenagers declined between 2014 and 2019, with a sharp decline seen starting in late 2017, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Read more.
Editor’s note: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration national helpline is 1-800-662-HELP (4357) .