As More Kids Take Drugs, Risk From Dangerous Pairings Climbs

As More Kids Take Drugs, Risk From Dangerous Pairings Climbs
Jackson, 27, who said he is addicted to prescription medication, lies passed out in a public library on March 14, 2016 in New London, CT. John Moore/Getty Images
|Updated:

About 20 percent of kids in the U.S. use prescription drugs and many take more than one at a time, putting them at risk of harmful interactions, new research finds.

Nearly one in five children and teenagers use prescription medicines, with 7.5 percent taking multiple medications, according to a study of 23,152 kids under the age of 19 in the journal Pediatrics. Of those taking more than one medication, 1 in 12 were at risk for a potentially major interaction. Such overlapping prescriptions can increase health risks if they combine in ways that lessen or otherwise alter the drugs’ intended effects, the study said.