This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A new study found that rates of intentional substance exposures at school reported to U.S. poison centers increased substantially among elementary- and middle-school-aged children from 2000 through 2024, while high-school-aged adolescents continued to experience the highest rates of serious medical outcomes and hospital admissions. Researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Central Ohio Poison Center analyzed calls to U.S. poison centers and found that the overall rate of reported intentional substance exposures at school increased 77.5% from 2000 to 2024.
In a study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, researchers found the increase was 287% among elementary-school-aged children (from 3.1 to 11.9 reports per 100,000 children) and 112% among middle-school-aged children (from 10 to 21.3 per 100,000 children). In contrast, the rate among high-school-aged children decreased by 4% over the study period. "One of the most striking findings was how the age pattern changed over time," said Hannah Hays, MD, co-author of the study and medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center.
"By about 2015, the reported exposure rate among middle-school-aged children had surpassed that among high-school-aged youth. At the same time, high-school-aged adolescents continued to experience the most serious medical outcomes. These findings tell us that prevention needs to begin earlier, while older adolescents also need ready access to clinical and mental health support." Overall, high-school-aged teenagers accounted for almost half (46%) of intentional substance exposures at school.
The higher rates of serious medical outcomes and hospital admissions in this age group are partially explained by their higher rates of substance abuse and suspected self-harm or suicidal intent. Leading substance categories differed by age group as well. More than half of the intentional exposures occurring at school were attributable to intentional misuse (62%), followed by abuse (24%) and suspected self-harm or suicidal intent (14%).
Substance abuse was more than 4 1/2 times more likely to be associated with a serious medical outcome than non-abuse-related intentional exposures. Likewise, exposures related to suspected self-harm or suicidal intent were more than twice as likely to be associated with a serious medical outcome as exposures not related to suspected self-harm or suicidal intent. In poison center data, "intentional misuse" refers to improper use for a reason other than seeking a high or other psychotropic effect; recreational use with the intent of seeking a high or other psychotropic effect is categorized separately as "abuse." Pharmaceutical exposures in the high school group were associated with substantially greater clinical severity.
Across all age groups, exposures involving pharmaceuticals were about 10 times more likely to result in a serious medical outcome and 14 times more likely to result in admission to a noncritical or critical care unit than nonpharmaceutical substance exposures. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. d research that matter—daily or weekly. This study highlights the need for age-specific prevention interventions and clinical response strategies, including safe storage not only at home but also at school.
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