Areas with higher rates of illicit opioid abuse also saw higher rates of suicides among children, pointing to a link between the two crises, a study published in Demography found.
The study linked the rise in child suicide rates to the reformulation of OxyContin to prevent abuse, which led to higher rates of illicit opioids use. According to a Dec. 4 news release from the RAND Corporation, the study found geographic areas that had higher preexisting use of OxyContin before the reformulation had higher spikes in child suicide rates than other areas.
David Powell, PhD, the lead study author and a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, said illicit opioid use did not increase among children, but the increase could be linked to the broader effects of the crisis. Previous research linked increased illicit opioid use to child neglect and altered living arrangements.
Suicide rates among children ages 10 to 17 increased from 2011 to 2018 after a period of decline. The period for the RAND study was from 1980 to 2020. Provisional CDC data showed suicide rates decreased among younger people in 2022.
"This study provides evidence of the importance of a social change — the reformulation of OxyContin — as a potentially important factor contributing to the recent unexplained increase in child suicides," Dr. Powell said in the news release. "The transition to illicit opioids has altered households and society in several documented ways and likely on countless unstudied dimensions."