Kids with Mental Health Disorders at Risk for Long-Term Opioid Use

Laura Richardson, MD, discusses a study that examined the association between mental health disorders and subsequent risk for long-term opioid use among adolescents and young adults ages 13 to 24. She and research teams at Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington found that those with mental health disorders were not only more likely to be prescribed opioids for chronic pain but 2.4 times more likely to become long-term opioid users than those who didn't have a mental health disorder. The study was published in the June 2012 Journal of Adolescent Health.

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