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Trends in both the rate and cause of drug overdose deaths among U.S. teens have varied from 1999 to 2015, according to a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report.
The rate of drug overdose deaths among adolescents ages 15-19 years more than doubled from 1999 (1.6 per 100,000) to 2007 (4.2 per 100,000). It then declined by 26% between 2007 and 2014 (3.1 per 100,000) and increased again in 2015 (3.7 per 100,000), reported Sally C. Curtin, of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues in an NCHS Data Brief.
Deaths involving opioids more than tripled from 1999 (0.8 per 100,000) to 2007 (2.7 per 100,000) but leveled off between 2007 and 2011 until they increased between 2014 and 2015 (2.4 per 100,000).
However, the majority of overdose deaths were accidental (80.4%), followed by suicide (13.5%), undetermined intent (5.2%), and homicide (0.9%).
The researchers found that heroin overdoses -- which were three times higher in 2015 (1.0 per 100,000) than in 1999 (0.3 per 100,000) -- were of particular concern. Other leading causes of overdose deaths included:
- Cocaine increased between 1999 (0.3 per 100,000) and 2006 (0.7 per 100,000), declined to 0.2 per 100,000 in 2009, and stabilized before increasing between 2013 (0.1 per 100,000) and 2015 (0.3 per 100,000).
- Benzodiazepines increased from 2000 (0.1 per 100,000) to 2009 (0.7 per 100,000), declined to 0.4 per 100,000 by 2012, and then rose again to 0.6 per 100,000 in 2015.
- Psychostimulants with abuse potential increased from 0.1 per 100,000 in 1999 to 0.4 per 100,000 in 2015.