ABSTRACT
Background
Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), largely a consequence of prenatal opioid exposure, results in substantial morbidity. Population-based studies of NAS going beyond Medicaid populations and hospital discharge data (HDD) alone are limited. Using statewide Tennessee (TN) HDD and birth certificate (BC) data, we examined trends and evaluated maternal and infant factors associated with NAS.
Methods
We conducted a population-based descriptive study during 2013–2017 in TN. NAS infants were identified with International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9-Clinical Modification (CM) and ICD-10-CM codes in HDD and linked to BC data using iterative deterministic matching algorithms. Descriptive analyses were conducted for infant and maternal factors (exposures) by NAS (outcome). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted ORs and 95% CIs.
Results
NAS incidence increased from 13.4 to 15.4 per 1,000 live births between 2013 and 2017 (15% increase; ptrend<0.001), but remained stable in 2017. In adjusted models, maternal factors associated with reduced odds of NAS included breastfeeding (OR:0.55, 95%CI:0.52–0.59) and prenatal care (OR:0.36, 95%CI:0.32–0.41). Smoking, preterm birth, and lower birthweight were associated with increased odds of NAS.
Conclusions
This study highlights the value of utilizing surveillance data to monitor trends and correlates of NAS to inform prevention efforts and targeting of public health resources.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2022.2098841