Specialists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that in the United States there has been an increase in the incidence of gastroschisis, a birth defect in which intestines or other organs fall out of the abdominal cavity. Doctors attribute this to an increase in the use of pain medications, but other factors are also possible. This is reported in an article published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
In most cases, the cause of gastroschisis is unknown, but early motherhood, the use of certain medications, including aspirin, smoking, and alcohol use are named as risk factors.
Abdominal prolapse does not pose a serious threat to the baby's life, but it requires urgent surgery, and the healing process takes several weeks. In addition, children who have operated on may have digestive problems for many years.
Scientists analyzed data from 20 studies to assess the incidence of gastroschisis between 2006 and 2010 and 2011 to 2015, and look for a possible link to prescription opioid use. During the first observation period, among 8.34 million births, 3489 cases of gastroschisis were registered, and during the second - 4166 (among 9.36 million births). Over the entire period under consideration (2006-2015), the incidence of gastroschisis increased by 10 percent, mainly among mothers under 20 years of age.
At the same time, the prevalence of the disease in areas with a high level of opioid use (5.1 per 10 thousand successful pregnancies) increased 1.6 times, and in areas with an average level of use (4.6 per 10 thousand) - 1.4 times (compared with areas with low consumption of 3.2 per 10 thousand).
The authors of the article emphasize that since their study was observational, it is impossible to unequivocally establish a causal relationship. Moreover, the data analyzed did not take into account the use of drugs such as buprenorphine and methadone. Scientists also admit the influence of confounding factors that affect both the incidence of gastroschisis and the use of opioids and create the appearance of a connection. Future research should provide more accurate data.