Sixteen-Year-Olds May Be At Highest Risk For Misusing Prescription Painkillers.

MedWire (5/12, Mahendra) reported, “Sixteen-year-olds are at the highest risk for misusing prescription pain relievers,” according to a study published online May 7 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. After analyzing data on some 119,877 teens and young adults, researchers found that “that approximately one in 60 individuals aged between 12 and 21 years used prescription pain relievers for extramedical purposes.” Notably, “the peak risk for extramedical pain reliever prescription use was highest at the age of 16 years in all participants, with approximately one in 30-40 using pain relievers to get high.”

Related Links:

— “Pain-reliever abuse risk highest among 16-year-olds,”Piriya Mahendra, MedWire News, May 11, 2012.

Posted in In The News.