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. 2016 May;157(5):1021-1027.
doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000475.

Trends in opioid prescriptions among children and adolescents in the United States: a nationally representative study from 1996 to 2012

Cornelius B Groenewald  1 , Jennifer A Rabbitts, J Thomas Gebert, Tonya M Palermo
Affiliations

Trends in opioid prescriptions among children and adolescents in the United States: a nationally representative study from 1996 to 2012

Cornelius B Groenewald et al. Pain. 2016 May.

Abstract

Prescription opioid misuse is a major public health concern in the United States, yet little is known about national prescription patterns. We aimed to assess trends in opioid prescriptions made to children and adolescents, to their families, and to adults in the United States from 1996 to 2012. The sample was drawn from nationally representative data, the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys. We used survey design methods to examine trends in prescription opioid use over time and a logistic regression analysis to examine predictors associated with opioid use. Findings indicated that from 1996 to 2012 opioid prescriptions to children and adolescents remained stable and low. In 1996, 2.68% of children received an opioid prescription, and in 2012, 2.91% received an opioid prescription. In contrast, opioid prescriptions to family members of children and adolescents and adults in general significantly increased during this period. The most common opioid prescriptions to children and adolescents in 2012 were codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Using multivariate logistic regression models, the white non-Hispanic race, older age, health insurance, and parent-reported fair to poor general health were associated with higher rates of opioid prescriptions in children and adolescents. Our main finding was that although the rates of opioid prescriptions have increased among adults in the United States, the rates have not changed among children and adolescents. Recent epidemiologic association studies have identified a strong link between increased opioid prescriptions and increased rates of opioid misuse and abuse in adults. Future studies should assess the association between adult opioid prescriptions and children or adolescent opioid misuse.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated total number of opioid prescriptions per year for all children and adolescents in the USA and grouped by ages: 0–5 years of age, 6–11 years of age, and 12–17 years of age (point estimates and confidence intervals). Data source: Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys 1996–2012.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimated total number of opioid prescriptions per year for children 0–17 years of age, family members of children, and adults 18 years and older in the United States (point estimated with 95 % confidence intervals). Data source: Medical Expenditure Panel.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of opioid prescriptions by opioid category in children 0–17 years of age in the United States (point estimates) between 1996 and 2012. Data source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 1996–2012
Figure 4
Figure 4
General diagnostic categories associated with opioid prescriptions to children in the USA, 1996–2012. Data source: Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys 1996–2012
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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