Association of Opioids Prescribed to Family Members With Opioid Overdose Among Adolescents and Young Adults

Source: 

Nguyen AP, Glanz JM, Narwaney KJ, Binswanger IA. Association of Opioids Prescribed to Family Members With Opioid Overdose Among Adolescents and Young Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e201018. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.1018

Key Points

Question  Are opioids prescribed to family members associated with pharmaceutical opioid overdose among adolescents and young adults?

Findings  In this cohort study of 72 040 adolescents and young adults, exposure to family members with opioid prescriptions in the past month was associated with a 2-fold increase in the risk of overdose, and youth’s own prescriptions were associated with a more than 6-fold increase in risk. Concurrent exposure to prescriptions of family members and youth themselves was associated with a nearly 13-fold increase in overdose risk.

Meaning  In this study, opioid prescriptions to family members as well as to youth were associated with an increased risk of youth overdose.