A new study published in De Gruyter’s Journal of Perinatal Medicine reveals that infant deaths linked to drugs more than doubled in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although there has been a notable increase in adult drug overdose deaths, infant drug-related deaths have not been extensively studied. Professor Panagiota Kitsantas of Florida Atlantic University and her team examined drug-related infant mortality in the US from 2018 to 2022, encompassing the period just before and after the pandemic. Drug-related infant deaths can occur due to accidental drug ingestion, maternal drug use during pregnancy, or intentional poisoning.
Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database, researchers identified 295 drug-related infant deaths between 2018 and 2022. This marks a 2.2-fold increase, with the most significant rise occurring between 2019 and 2022, peaking in 2021. Most of these deaths involved post-neonatal infants (28 to 364 days old), while fewer cases were among neonates (27 days or younger).
The study found that many of the affected infants were born to non-Hispanic White mothers (60.4%) and non-Hispanic Black mothers (28.5%). Among non-Hispanic White mothers, drug-related infant mortality (60.4%) surpassed all other causes of infant mortality (42.3%). Additionally, a slight majority of the deceased infants were male (56.5%).
The COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to this rise due to reduced access to prenatal care and hospital closures, particularly in rural areas. The pandemic’s impact on mental health may have also influenced drug use patterns. Factors such as overall maternal health, living conditions, and economic status, which were affected during the pandemic, could also have played a role. The role of race and ethnicity suggests that future interventions should target vulnerable communities to reduce these figures.
Professor Kitsantas emphasized the importance of monitoring drug-involved infant mortality in light of the general increase in drug overdose deaths, especially among pregnant and postpartum women. “Effective strategies will require collaborative efforts among health providers, public health agencies, and community partners. These efforts should focus on preventing and treating maternal substance use disorders, enhancing prenatal care access, and addressing broader social and behavioral risk factors,” she stated.
