The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the United States has increased significantly since 1999, and there is much disparity in rates between states, according to a new study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2016;65:799-802).
NAS, a drug withdrawal syndrome in newborns exposed to opioids, is a lagging indicator of the larger opioid epidemic in the United States, according to lead study author Jean Y. Ko, PhD, an epidemiologist at the CDC. Investigators analyzed the