Buprenorphine dispensing to youth is low and declined during 2015- 2020, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Christina Mikosz, MD, MPH, and colleagues examined buprenorphine dispensing trends among youth aged 19 and younger during 2015- 2020. The researchers found a 25% decrease in the rate of buprenorphine dispensed to youth during the study period, from 0.84 to 0.63 prescriptions per 1,000 youth per year. There was also a 45% decrease observed in the proportion of youth dispensed buprenorphine, from 7.6 to 4.2 persons per 100,000 per year. During the same period, there was a 47% increase in the proportion of adults aged 20 years and older dispensed buprenorphine, from 378 to 593 persons per 100,000. There were differences noted in dispensing by sex and temporal trends. Of all prescriptions dispensed, pediatricians accounted for less than 2%. “Understanding barriers contributing to low prescribing rates by clinicians who treat youth can inform public health efforts to increase availability of medications for opioid use disorder in pediatric [settings] as well as to improve linkage to care following opioid use disorder diagnosis and overdose
events,” Dr. Mikosz and colleagues wrote.
Gender-Affirming Hormones Improve Psychosocial Functioning in Teens
Use of gender-affirming hormones (GAH) improves appearance congruence and psychosocial functioning among transgender and nonbinary youth, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Diane Chen, PhD, and colleagues assessed the longitudinal course of psychosocial functioning during the 2 years after GAH initiation among 315 US transgender and nonbinary youth aged 12-20. During 2 years of follow-up, appearance congruence, positive affect, and life satisfaction increased, while depression and anxiety symptoms decreased. There were concurrent associations observed between increases in appearance congruence and increases in positive affect and life satisfaction, as well as decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms. Suicidal ideation (11 participants; 3.5%) was the most common adverse event; two participants died by suicide. “We are now following this cohort to see whether gains in functioning are sustained over a longer follow-up period. Given substantial variability in outcomes even after controlling for a number of factors, we hope to discover additional predictors of change to identify youth for whom GAH alone is not adequate to address mental health challenges,” Dr. Chen and colleagues wrote.
