A new study estimates that more than 321,000 children lost parents to drug overdoses between 2011 and 2021, with the death rate more than doubling over that period.
The study published in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry found that about 321,566 children lost a parent to drug overdoses in the decade following 2011. Overall, 649,599 adults ages 18 to 64 died from overdoses in that period. Two-thirds of all deaths in the study were among men.
The data came from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health.
Among every 100,000 children, the rate of people who lost a parent to an overdose increased from 27 per 100,000 to 62.1 in 2021.
Although children of non-Hispanic white parents represented the largest group in the study, children of non-Hispanic, American Indian, or Alaska Native individuals experienced the highest rate of loss, 187.1 per 100,000.
“Our findings highlight an additional dimension of the worsening overdose disparities observed among minoritized racial and ethnic groups, in particular among tribal populations,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Across all parental age, sex, race, and ethnicity groups, rates of parental loss have increased consistently each year.
The researchers acknowledged several limitations of the study, including the absence of people incarcerated, in institutional settings, or homeless among the populations observed.
They advised that a parent-centered approach be adopted to harm reduction, treatment and recovery services to combat this particular trend. The researchers advised that measures such as peer-to-peer parenting training be considered.
“It is devastating to see that almost half of the people who die from drug overdoses had a child. No family should lose a loved one to an overdose, and each of these deaths represents a tragic loss that could have been prevented,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“These findings emphasize the need to better support parents in accessing prevention, treatment and recovery services,” she added. “Furthermore, any child who loses a parent to an overdose must receive the care and support they need to cope with this painful and traumatic situation. experience.”
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