The number of controlled medications – those classified to have the potential for misuse or dependency – prescribed to young people is declining, according to Rutgers Health researchers. Their study, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined prescription trends over the past two decades of U.S. adolescents and young adults ages 10 to 29 enrolled in Medicaid, with an annual sample of 9 million to 18 million.
Researchers analyzed prescriptions for six medications commonly used to treat mental health or pain conditions that are involved in overdoses. While researchers observed an overall decline in the proportion of youth prescribed a controlled medication, the trends varied across specific substances and age groups.
Declines may be attributed to a range of factors, including increased awareness of the risks of opioid misuse and policy changes, researchers said. “As young people are a vulnerable age group with a heightened risk for drug misuse and overdose, it is important to monitor trends in the prescribing of controlled medications,” said Greta Bushnell, a core member of the Rutgers Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and lead author of the study. To read the full story.