Unbreakable
Bluelighter
One in eight older teens has used powerful painkillers when they weren't prescribed -- and many of them start misusing the medications earlier than was previously assumed, according to new research.
The findings are based on two nationally-representative surveys that asked teenagers about their recent or lifetime use of prescription painkillers, which include drugs such as oxycontin and codeine.
Both medical and recreational use of such opioid drugs has increased across the United States over the past couple of decades, as have deaths due to painkiller overdoses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 14,800 Americans died of an opioid overdose in 2008 -- three times the number of overdose deaths 20 years earlier.
"The non-medical use of controlled medications in (teens) has surpassed almost all illicit drugs except for marijuana," said pediatrician Dr. Robert Fortuna, from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
"It's just an alarming trend."
Fortuna, who wasn't involved in the new research, told Reuters Health more doctors are prescribing kids powerful painkillers for conditions like back or knee pain -- and some of those drugs may end up getting used recreationally.
But that doesn't mean any prescribing of oxycontin or related drugs is a bad idea in young people who really need them, researchers agreed.
"The majority of these kids are still using these medications as intended," said Sean Esteban McCabe, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who led one of the new studies.
McCabe and his colleagues analyzed teenagers' drug-related responses on a general survey of behaviors and attitudes that was given to about 7,400 high school seniors in 2007 through 2009.
Of those teens -- from 135 different public and private schools -- about 13 percent said they had ever used prescription painkillers for non-medical reasons, such as to get high or to relieve pain without a doctor's oversight.
Teens who said they'd used the painkillers for non-medical purposes were more likely to smoke pot or cigarettes or to binge drink, compared with those who'd only taken the pills under a doctor's supervision or not at all.
Most of the kids who used the drugs recreationally had previously been prescribed them for a medical condition. Teens may be using their own leftover medication for pain or recreational purposes, or may get painkillers from family members or friends who were prescribed the drugs, researchers said.
"There does seem to be a casual attitude held by some regarding sharing medications that have abuse potential," McCabe told Reuters Health.
"Some kids are using opioid medications to self-treat pain, and really they would benefit from a professional assessment for their pain management."
Other survey data on 12- to 21-year olds revealed that most teens who took up the habit started using painkillers at age 16 or 17 -- not at the end of high school or afterwards, as some research had suggested.
Source: This is really getting out of hand all over America
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47329...lth/t/teens-misuses-prescription-painkillers/
The findings are based on two nationally-representative surveys that asked teenagers about their recent or lifetime use of prescription painkillers, which include drugs such as oxycontin and codeine.
Both medical and recreational use of such opioid drugs has increased across the United States over the past couple of decades, as have deaths due to painkiller overdoses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 14,800 Americans died of an opioid overdose in 2008 -- three times the number of overdose deaths 20 years earlier.
"The non-medical use of controlled medications in (teens) has surpassed almost all illicit drugs except for marijuana," said pediatrician Dr. Robert Fortuna, from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
"It's just an alarming trend."
Fortuna, who wasn't involved in the new research, told Reuters Health more doctors are prescribing kids powerful painkillers for conditions like back or knee pain -- and some of those drugs may end up getting used recreationally.
But that doesn't mean any prescribing of oxycontin or related drugs is a bad idea in young people who really need them, researchers agreed.
"The majority of these kids are still using these medications as intended," said Sean Esteban McCabe, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who led one of the new studies.
McCabe and his colleagues analyzed teenagers' drug-related responses on a general survey of behaviors and attitudes that was given to about 7,400 high school seniors in 2007 through 2009.
Of those teens -- from 135 different public and private schools -- about 13 percent said they had ever used prescription painkillers for non-medical reasons, such as to get high or to relieve pain without a doctor's oversight.
Teens who said they'd used the painkillers for non-medical purposes were more likely to smoke pot or cigarettes or to binge drink, compared with those who'd only taken the pills under a doctor's supervision or not at all.
Most of the kids who used the drugs recreationally had previously been prescribed them for a medical condition. Teens may be using their own leftover medication for pain or recreational purposes, or may get painkillers from family members or friends who were prescribed the drugs, researchers said.
"There does seem to be a casual attitude held by some regarding sharing medications that have abuse potential," McCabe told Reuters Health.
"Some kids are using opioid medications to self-treat pain, and really they would benefit from a professional assessment for their pain management."
Other survey data on 12- to 21-year olds revealed that most teens who took up the habit started using painkillers at age 16 or 17 -- not at the end of high school or afterwards, as some research had suggested.
Source: This is really getting out of hand all over America
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47329...lth/t/teens-misuses-prescription-painkillers/
