CHICAGO — A surge in US infants born with symptoms of withdrawal from heroin or strong prescription painkillers is driven largely by rising drug use among women in rural areas, a new study found.
The problem in urban and rural areas was about the same in 2004 — about 1 in 1,000 births were affected. But by 2013, the rural rate had climbed to almost 8 in 1,000. In urban areas, it reached 5 per 1,000 births.
The rates correspond with women’s use of opioid drugs during pregnancy. This includes use or misuse of oxycodone and other prescription opioid painkillers, and use of illegal narcotics.
This article needs correction, as the 21% figure is not presented in the appropriate context. What the original source conveys is this: AMONG babies who are born with withdrawal symptoms (5-8 per 1000 births), 21% of them now come from rural counties. It is not 21% of all rural births (a truly shocking statistic), as the above article currently states. (JAMA Pediatrics link: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2592302)
Okay I’m confused, is the rate 21% (210 in 1000 births) or 8 in 1000 births?