Answer Addiction

Tag: pre-birth opioid exposure

  • Opioid Use May Be Tied To Intestinal Disorder In Newborns

    Opioid Use May Be Tied To Intestinal Disorder In Newborns

    A new report explores the connection between opioid use and the intestinal birth defect.

    Infants whose mothers use opioids during pregnancy are at risk for a host of issues from small head size to dependency on the drugs. Now, a new report suggests an additional health concern for babies exposed to opioids: a possible increased risk of gastroschisis, a birth defect that causes infants to be born with their intestines outside their bodies.  

    The report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed that rates of gastroschisis are increasing around the globe, something that doctors had reported anecdotally. Instances of the condition rose 10% when researchers compared two periods, 2006 to 2010, and 2011 to 2015.

    During this time, the rates of infants born exposed to opioids also increased. The report authors found that gastroschisis was more common when the rate of opioid use was also more common. 

    “Gastroschisis prevalence was higher in areas with high and medium opioid prescription rates, compared with that in areas with low rates,” the authors of the review wrote. “This ecologic analysis supports the findings from a large case-control study, which suggested that self-reported prescription opioid use in the first trimester was associated with gastroschisis.”

    Although researchers looked at the rate of prescription opioids — not illicit opioids — the findings suggest a connection between opioid use and the birth defect, and researchers said there is a need for more information about how opioid use may contribute to gastroschisis.

    “These findings provide compelling evidence of the need to better understand the potential contribution of opioid exposure in the etiology of gastroschisis as well as the possible role opioids have played in the observed increases in gastroschisis,” the authors wrote. 

    Speaking with Live Science, Dr. Saima Aftab, medical director at the Fetal Care Center at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, said “there’s something changing” in the prevalence of gastroschisis. Although the condition can be corrected with surgery, infants face risks with their digestion early on. Babies with the condition may have to be hospitalized for months following their delivery and surgery. 

    Because the CDC report does not provide any concrete answers about why and how opioids may contribute to gastroschisis, the authors said it will be important to conduct more research into the correlation.  

    “The findings … can be used to prioritize basic science, public health, and clinical research on opioid exposure during pregnancy and its potential impact on birth defects,” they wrote. “Having a better understanding of all possible effects of opioid use during pregnancy can help provide evidence-based information to health care providers and women about the potential risks to the developing fetus.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Can Pre-Birth Opioid Exposure Lead To Learning Disorders?

    Can Pre-Birth Opioid Exposure Lead To Learning Disorders?

    A new study examined the potential link between pre-birth opioid exposure and developmental issues. 

    Children born to mothers using opioids may grow up to demonstrate difficulty learning, a new study has found.

    The study examined the potential long-term issues for infants born to mothers who used opioids while pregnant, according to NBC News.

    The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that one in seven children affected by a mother using opioids needed to be placed in special education classrooms for various issues, including developmental issues and speech delay. In comparison, one in 10 children who were not exposed to opioids before birth required the same. 

    About 7,200 children from Tennessee’s Medicaid program were involved in the study, ranging in age from 3 to 8 years old. Of those children, nearly 2,000 were born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)—or, in simpler terms, withdrawal from opioids due to a mother’s use.

    Tennessee has been greatly affected by the opioid epidemic, which is reflected in the number of infants exposed to opioids before birth. In 1999, it was one per 1,000 infants. But in 2015, it was 13 per 1,000.

    Researchers said they took specific factors into account like birth weight and mother’s education and tobacco use, but that those did not change the results. 

    According to study co-author Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, the results make sense, as other studies have determined that there are brain differences in children affected by opioids while in utero. 

    Dr. Mary-Margaret Fill, lead author and a researcher with Tennessee’s health department, tells NBC News that affected children “are definitely not doomed. There are great programs and services that exist to help these children and their families. We just have to make sure they get plugged in.”

    Because the study was focused in Tennessee, it’s not clear if the results are similar in other U.S. states, and no other studies with the same focus have been conducted in the country. 

    However, a similar study was conducted in Australia last year, and found that children exposed to opioids before birth had worse academic scores in seventh grade in comparison to others their age. The U.S. study did not examine academic performance.

    Dr. Matthew Davis, co-chair of the Opioid Task Force at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, tells the Chicago Tribune that the study results should serve as a sign that opioid use affects a wide range.

    “There’s a sense that the opioid epidemic is somebody else’s problem, but it affects more than those who take the drugs,” Davis said. “I hope the study is a wake-up call, so people understand that this epidemic is a community-level, multigenerational problem that will only grow if we don’t take the proper steps to address it.”

    View the original article at thefix.com