Youth OD deaths involving only synthetic opioids rose 168% in 5 years

Opioid overdose deaths continued to rise among adolescents and young adults during a recent 5-year period, and synthetic opioids alone are becoming the predominant cause, according to findings published in Pediatrics.

The CDC reported earlier this year that drug overdose deaths in the U.S. declined 26.9% overall from 2023 to 2024 and projected that 2024 would see the lowest number of fatal overdoses in one year since 2019. However, fatal overdose rates among adolescents are still significantly higher than before the pandemic, according to a report by KFF. During the pandemic, KFF reported that teen overdose deaths doubled from 282 in 2019 to 546 in 2020, peaked in 2022 with 721, then decreased slightly in 2023 to 708.

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