Opioids Were the Most Common Cause of Fatal Poisoning of Young Children, a Study Finds

The study's sobering findings underscore the extent of the opioid epidemic’s impact on children, according to its lead author

ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images FILE - This illustration image shows tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodone delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Opioids were the most common substance contributing to the poisoning deaths of children ages 5 and younger, according to a new study.

The research, published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics, found that opioids accounted for more than 47% of the poisoning deaths among children in that age group between 2005 and 2018 — 346 of 731 total deaths reported to the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention.

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Meanwhile, over-the-counter pain, cold and allergy medications contributed to a little less than 15% of the deaths.

The sobering findings underscore the extent of the opioid epidemic’s impact on children, according to Dr. Christopher Gaw, the study’s lead author.

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“Opioids are implicated in so many deaths, and there are hundreds or thousands of potentially dangerous substances for children in our environment, but we’re really seeing that one stand out,” said Gaw, a pediatric emergency medicine fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has become the leading cause of overdose deaths in America, along with other synthetic opioids. The CDC reports that over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids. Nabarun Dasgupta, a senior scientist at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, joins LX to discuss the rise in fentanyl-related overdoses.
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