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Opioid Dispensing Trends Among Children and Adolescents Aged ≤ 19 Years in the United States: 2018-2022.

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English


Public Access Version Available on: January 01, 2027, 12:00 AM
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  • Alternative Title:
    The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2026, v. 78, no. 1: Opioid Dispensing Trends Among Children and Adolescents Aged ≤ 19 Years in the United States: 2018-2022.
  • Journal Article:
    The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
  • Personal Author:
    Bly, Ceciley ; Guy, Gery ; Mikosz, Christina ; Terranella, Andrew
  • Description:
    Since 2019, adolescent overdose deaths have more than doubled, primarily due to illegally-made fentanyl. Prescription opioid misuse during adolescence increases the risk of substance use disorders and overdose. This analysis examines opioid dispensing trends among individuals aged ≤19 years to support safer prescribing practices.

    We used IQVIA National Prescription Audit New to Brand data (2018-2022), which includes 92% of US retail pharmacy prescriptions dispensed. Annual rates and percentage changes were calculated by sex, age, prescriber specialty, and product type.

    From 2018 to 2022, opioid dispensing rates decreased 36% from 46.9 to 30.2 prescriptions per 1,000 youth. Declines were observed across all age groups (0-2 years, 59.2%; 3-9 years, 50.8%; 10-19 years, 34.4%) and dispense rates were similar by sex (males 34.6; females 37.0). Short-acting opioids comprised 99.4% of prescriptions and declined by 42.8%, compared to 27.3% for long-acting formulations. Dentists and surgical subspecialists accounted for the highest proportions of prescribing (34.8% and 23.7%, respectively), while pediatricians accounted for 2%, with a 56% reduction over the study period.

    Opioid prescribing to children and adolescents ≤19 years declined substantially from 2018 to 2022, reflecting evolving clinical practice. Targeted outreach to high-prescribing specialties may further improve the safety of opioid use in acute pain management.
  • Content Notes:
    Author manuscript
  • Subjects:
  • Keywords:
  • Source:
    The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2026, v. 78, no. 1
  • DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.08.026
  • ISSN:
    1054-139X ; 1879-1972
  • Pubmed ID:
    41065630
  • Pubmed Central ID:
    PMC13463246
  • Document Type:
    Text
  • Funding:
    CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
  • Genre:
    Journal Article
  • Pages in Document:
    190-194 (10 pdf pages)
  • Volume:
    78
  • Issue:
    1
  • Collection(s):
    CDC Public Access
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:6f7f0df8dd188b0d73a77581e85a306f3cb6ac379cbf37caadacaa2ae763fb041a0028fbb040a75e3c7feb3b5a38a7bc5ea3052ef72fc3f06256e5772ebfc4cc
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