Teens Who Misuse Prescription Opioids More Likely to Report Suicidal Behavior

A new study finds about one-third of high school students who said they were currently intentionally misusing prescription opioids reported attempting suicide.

The findings come from responses of more than 13,600 high school students to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey found 7.4% of students reported that they had misused prescription opioids at least once before, while 7.2% reported misuse once or more within the last month.

Teens who said they were currently misusing prescription opioids were more likely to say they had seriously considered suicide, made suicide plans or felt sad or hopeless in the last year, compared with teens who misused opioids in the past or had never misused them, CNN reports. The study found 33% of students who reported current prescription opioid misuse said they had attempted suicide, compared with 19% of those who reported past misuse and 6% of those who said they had never misused an opioid prescription.