Trends in diagnosed drug problems among newborns: United States, 1979-1987.
Between 1979 and 1987, there was an estimated 361% increase in the number of drug-affected newborns discharged from the 6000 non-federal, short-stay hospitals in the United States. Per 10,000 newborns, the rate increased 339%, mostly occurring after 1983. The estimated number of drug affected newborns in 1987 was about 13,000 (95% confidence interval: 10,000-15,000). Recognizing that underreporting could have occurred, multiplicative correction factors derived from the literature were employed to produce 'adjusted' estimates. While somewhat arbitrary, the number of drug-affected newborns, adjusted for underreporting, was about 38,000 (95% confidence interval: 30,000-45,000). Both adjusted and unadjusted estimates of the numbers of newborns identified as drug-affected by the present study is much smaller than most of the estimates reported in the literature. Possible reasons for this finding are discussed.
Dicker
M
M
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Division of Applied Research, Rockville, MD 20857.
Leighton
E A
EA
D001723:Birth Rate; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009357:Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
D013287:Illicit Drugs