ArticleBMC public health2026
Unintentional ingestion of recreational drugs among young children, 2000-2024.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies of pediatric recreational drug exposures have often been limited in scope. Given the rapidly changing recreational drug supply and the related unintentional ingestion of these drugs by young children, a comprehensive study that includes recent data about these exposures is needed. The objective of this study is to investigate the characteristics and trends of unintentional ingestions of recreational drugs by children < 6 years old.
methodsUsing a retrospective cohort study design, National Poison Data System data from 2000 to 2024 were analyzed. United States Census Bureau data were used to calculate population-based ingestion rates. Rate ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the magnitude of relationships between key characteristics and outcomes, such as highest level of health care received and medical outcome.
resultsThere were 41,612 unintentional ingestions involving recreational drugs among children < 6 years old reported to United States poison centers from 2000 to 2024. Most were among children < 3 years old (57.6%), involved a single substance (95.9%), and occurred in a residence (96.4%). Although 50.6% of children experienced no or minor effects, 5.0% had a major effect and there were six deaths. Children < 3 years old were more likely to experience a major effect (RR: 1.54; 95% CI:1.39-1.71) or be admitted to a critical care unit (RR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.16-1.30) than children 3-5 years old. Cannabinoids accounted for 84.7% of ingestions, followed by stimulants (8.4%), psychedelics (3.5%), opioids (2.8%), and dissociative agents (0.6%). Ingestions involving opioids (RR: 2.60; 95% CI: 2.36-2.86), stimulants (RR: 2.16; 95% CI: 2.01-2.31), and dissociative agents (RR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.23-2.06) were more likely to be admitted to a critical care unit than the other substance categories combined. The recreational drug ingestion rate per 100,000 US children < 6 years old increased 3,307% from 1.05 in 2000 to 35.91 in 2024, with a rapid increase beginning in 2013, especially involving edible marijuana and psilocybin products.
conclusionsThe recreational drug ingestion rate among children < 6 years old reported to United States poison centers increased substantially from 2000 to 2024. Additional efforts are needed to prevent these unintentional ingestions in this vulnerable population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.