Opioid-related deaths among Teens and young adults tripled in rate, in Ontario since 2014.

According to a recent report by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at Unity Health Toronto, the number of opioid-related deaths among teenagers and young adults in Ontario has tripled between 2014 and 2021. Disturbingly, this increase in fatalities coincided with a significant decline in drug treatment rates.

The research highlights a concerning trend specifically among individuals aged 15 to 24, where opioid deaths experienced a dramatic surge during the initial year of the pandemic. The report reveals that the number of deaths spiked to 169, a notable rise from the previous year’s figure of 115. These statistics serve as a sobering reminder of the impact of opioids on the younger population in Ontario.

According to the findings of the research conducted by Chief Coroner for Ontario, Public Health Ontario, the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at Unity Health Toronto, and the non-profit institute ICES, concerning trends have been identified regarding the treatment and healthcare outcomes for young individuals aged 15 to 24 with opioid use disorder.

The analysis revealed that merely 37.1% of teens and young adults who had an opioid use disorder and ultimately succumbed to drug-related causes had received any form of treatment within the last year under examination. In comparison, a higher proportion of adults aged 25 to 44, specifically 48.6% , had received treatment during the same period.

research project extensively analyzed provincial health-care and demographic data from 2014 to 2021 for the 15-to 24-year-old age bracket. Within this time frame, a total of 752 young individuals tragically lost their lives, while there were 711 hospitalizations and 5,401 emergency department visits related to opioid use.

94% of individuals who died from opioids during the pandemic had traces of fentanyl in their system. This percentage increased by 10 points after COVID-19 emerged in the province, indicating a concerning rise in fentanyl-related fatalities.

Furthermore, the study revealed a notable difference in the prevalence of opioid use disorder among young people who died from opioids compared to the overall provincial data. only about half of the young individuals who lost their lives to opioids had a diagnosed opioid use disorder, whereas approximately two-thirds of all opioid-related deaths in the province are typically associated with this disorder.

These findings suggest that young people face significant barriers when it comes to accessing proper treatment. One potential reason for this disparity is the hesitancy among physicians to provide treatment options such as methadone or buprenorphine to young individuals. Mentioned by Gomes, whom is apart of the study.

Additionally, patients themselves may be reluctant to initiate a methadone treatment regimen, which requires daily trips to the pharmacy and can extend over several years. The demanding nature of this treatment process could discourage young people from seeking or adhering to it, further impeding their access to effective care.

“It’s really a stark comparison of the harms that this demographic is experiencing and how they’re accessing treatment and whether the health-care services that we’re providing to them are really meeting their needs,” said Dr. Tara Gomes, a scientist at Unity Health Toronto whom leads the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network.

“The other side of it is that we might be seeing increasing harms because teens and young adults are more likely to be using drugs occasionally,” Gomes said.

“Our drug supply is incredibly unpredictable and potent, and so if you’re only using drugs once in a while, then when you use them, if you are exposed to a very high dose or a drug that has multiple different substances in it, then you can be at really high risk of an overdose.”

it is a reality that young people are likely to engage in drug experimentation, and this pattern is not expected to change significantly.

approximately one in eight young individuals who lost their lives to opioids were experiencing homelessness at the time.