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Fentanyl-related deaths increase 590% in children over the last decade

In 2021 alone, the opioid was to blame for 93 deaths of small children between the ages of one and four.

Drugs, fentanyl, pills

(Pexels)

Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

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A new report in the journal

JAMA Pediatrics

revealed that more than 5,000 children and adolescents have died from fentanyl overdoses in the past two decades. More than half of these deaths occurred in the first two years of the covid-19 pandemic.

Between 2013 and 2021 alone, the overall fentanyl-related death rate increased by 3,740%. Among children up to four years old, opioid-related deaths increased by 590% during that time period. In adolescents (aged 15-19 years), deaths related to this drug rose 290% between 2018 and 2021.

Study author Julie Gaither, assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, used death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and evaluated fentanyl deaths over two decades.

Most deaths are "unintentional".

In 2021, fentanyl was to blame for 93 deaths among children ages 1 to 4. Linda Richter, senior vice president of Partnership to End Addiction noted:

It is really hard to get data on exactly what happens with younger children, but the anecdotal evidence is that it only takes a small amount to be fatal. So young children can touch the drug and then put their fingers in their mouths.

The report detailed that almost half of the deaths occurred at home and most were considered unintentional. That is, adolescents were unaware that the substances they were using contained fentanyl, and very young children may have touched or ingested drugs used by their parents. According to Richter:

There is a general consensus that fentanyl overdose deaths among children, whether toddlers or adolescents, are primarily unintentional (...) Among younger children, the main culprit is access to pills or substances laced with fentanyl that become available to them (...) For older adolescents, the culprit is more likely to be lack of awareness that the pill they are intentionally taking contains fentanyl.

More adults are exposed to fentanyl

The report detailed that one of the main factors influencing the upward trend in fentanyl deaths is that more adults now have easy access to the opioid due to its expansion in the illegal drug market.

Richter said that "this analysis adds to the growing body of research showing how widespread and tragic the fentanyl crisis is." In 1999, about 5% of opioid deaths were due to fentanyl. By 2021, the figure had increased to 94%. Deaths peaked in 2020 and 2021, according to the study, suggesting that the covid-19 pandemic worsened the opioid crisis.

Government must ensure that Narcan is free of charge

Richter said the government should ensure that drugs such as Narcan - which reverses opioid overdose - are free or affordable for any citizen. He indicated that the population must have the capacity to use it and pointed out that the stigma surrounding its purchase must be reduced:

The availability of fentanyl test strips for people who use drugs and a large-scale campaign to make Narcan available to drug users are needed. [naloxona] is available in homes, schools, and all public places for overdose cases (...) Most importantly, we need better substance use prevention and more accessible treatment for those who use drugs to reduce the likelihood that they will take a fentanyl-containing medication or have such medications available to children in the home.

In addition, Richter commented that parents should be educated about the need to keep all substances and medications in the home out of reach and out of sight of children:

In addition to addressing the contamination of the drug supply with deadly fentanyl, we need a broad education effort for adults and adolescents about the proliferation of fentanyl in the drug supply and its lethal potential.
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