New Research Finds High Newborn Addiction Rates in Northwestern PA

| March 30, 2018

VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) – According to a new research brief published on Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, Venango County has the fourth-highest rate for neonatal abstinence syndrome in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) as fetal and neonatal addiction and withdrawal as a result of the mother’s dependence on drugs during pregnancy. Infants born with NAS are more likely to suffer complications such as low birth weight, prematurity, difficulty feeding, and respiratory distress. They are also more likely to be admitted to a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit and have longer hospital stays.

Some of the highest rates of infants born with NAS are found in Northwestern Pennsylvania, and Venango County had the fourth highest rate in the state of Pennsylvania.

Here are the fiscal 2016-2017 rates per 1,000 newborn stays for counties in northwestern Pennsylvania:

Butler: 19.3
Clarion: 12.1
Crawford: 31.8
Elk: 45.1
Erie: 15.1
Forest: not reported due to low volume
Jefferson: 12.5
Lawrence: 26.8
McKean: 24.4
Mercer: 36.1
Venango County: 41.1
Warren: 13.8

Clinton and Tioga Counties have the lowest current rate in Pennsylvania, at just 3.2 per 1,000 newborn stays, while Greene County has the highest rate, with 76.0 per 1,000 newborn stays.

Statewide, the overall rate of neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborns has increased 1096% between the fiscal year 2000-01 and fiscal year 2016-17, from 1.2 to 15.0 per 1,000 newborn stays. There were nearly 2,000 NAS-related newborn stays in Pennsylvania in the 2017 fiscal year.


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