examined how typically youth who overdosed on a BZD or stimulant had a current medical prescription for that drug.
They discovered that 29 % of youth with overdoses involving BZD had a doctor-written prescription allotted within the prior month and 42 % within the prior six months whereas 25 % of youth with an overdose involving stimulants had a stimulant prescription allotted within the prior month and 39 % within the prior six months.
“Given {that a} substantial proportion of youth with overdoses involving BZD or stimulants have prescriptions for these medication within the prior months, doctor encounters when these drugs are prescribed could provide a chance to determine youth at excessive danger of overdose,” stated corresponding creator Greta Bushnell, a core member of the Heart for Pharmacoepidemiology and Remedy Sciences at Rutgers Institute for Well being, Well being Care Coverage and Getting old Analysis (IFH).
Utilizing a big United States administrative claims database protecting privately insured youth between 2016 and 2018, researchers recognized youth ages 15-24 who had a hospital or emergency division encounter for an overdose involving BZD or stimulants. Researchers then utilized prescription information to determine whether or not these youth had been prescribed these drugs within the months earlier than their overdose.
Researchers additionally discovered that youth with intentional BZD and stimulant overdoses had been extra more likely to have current prescriptions for these medication than youth with unintentional overdoses.
“These findings spotlight the necessity for physicians to evaluate youth for self-injury danger who’re prescribed BZDs and stimulants, in addition to the necessity for various efforts to stop intentional and unintentional overdoses,” stated Bushnell, who can also be an assistant professor at Rutgers Faculty for Public Well being. “Additional, for the reason that potential for hurt with BZDs and stimulants will increase with different substances comparable to alcohol, illicit medication, and opioids, discussions round limiting concurrent substance use is warranted.”
Future analysis quantifying the chance of overdose with BZD and stimulant therapy will inform therapy choices on this younger inhabitants, researchers stated.
Co-authors embrace Tobias Gerhard of the Heart for Pharmacoepidemiology and Remedy Sciences at Rutgers IFH, Rutgers College’s Faculty of Public Well being and Ernest Mario Faculty of Pharmacy, Hillary Samples of the Rutgers Faculty of Public Well being and Heart for Well being Providers Analysis at Rutgers IFH, Diane Calello of Rutgers New Jersey Medical Faculty and Mark Olfson of Columbia College Irving Medical Heart, New York State Psychiatric Institute. This research was supported by the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse underneath Award Quantity 1K01DA050769-01A1.
Supply: Eurekalert
