CDC Reports 19% Increase in Teen Drug Overdose Deaths

Teen drug overdose deaths rose 19 percent from 2014 to 2015 in the United States, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 772 drug overdose deaths among U.S. teens ages 15 to 19 in 2015, the report notes.

The rate increased from 3.1 deaths per 100,000 teens to 3.7 per 100,000, CNN reports. Most overdose deaths among teens were unintentional, although female deaths were more than twice as likely as male deaths to be suicides. Overdose death rates among those ages 15 to 19 were highest for opioid drugs, specifically heroin.