National Center Quick-Look

Opioid-Related Deaths: Children and Teens, Ages 10 – 17

Published November 2017

The National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention collects opioid-related information in the CDR-CRS.

Since 2004, there have been 635 opioid-related deaths of children and teens, ages 10 to 17 reviewed by CDR teams1.

Race:

89% White
6% African American
5% Other/Multi-racial

Sex:

7 in 10 boys
3 in 10 girls

Age:

15% 10-14 year olds
17% 15 years old
26% 16 years old
42% 17 years old

Child History:

9 in 10 had history of substance abuse
8 in 10 had problems in school
7 in 10 received prior mental health services
5 in 10 were receiving mental health services
4 in 10 had prior disability or chronic illness
4 in 10 had history of child maltreatment as victim

Place of Incident:

92% of deaths occurred at home… theirs, a friend’s or a relative’s

About 8 in 10 opioid-related deaths were results of accidental overdoses or acute intoxications

Nearly 9 in 10 involved prescription medication that were not prescribed to the child

What are Review Teams saying?

8 in 10 opioid-related deaths could have been prevented
5 in 10 review teams recommended school program education2
3 in 10 review teams recommended media campaign education2
5 in 10 review teams recommended parent education2
3 in 10 review teams recommended provider education2

1 Includes ages 10 – 17 years. Type of substance involved = Opiate or Methadone, n=635. Data download: March 2017 (n=106,827 from 2004-2017)
2 Includes ages 10 – 17 years. Type of substance involved = Opiate or Methadone, selected at least one response in K2 of the CDR-CRS, n=138

Made possible in part by Cooperative Agreement Numbers UG7MC28482 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Its  contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

These data represent approximately 70% of the cases entered into NFR-CRS. For more information about the Child Death Review Case Reporting System or about the data contained in this Quick-Look, please visit https://ncfrp.org/wp-content/uploads/NCRPCD-Docs/NCFRP_Quick_Looks_Analysis.pdf