One certainly is aware of the sexual risk-taking that can occur from substance abuse involving alcohol, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and even inhalants, but what about when prescription drugs like Oxycontin and other prescription narcotics, stimulants like methylphenidate, or antianxiolytics used by teens for non-medical reasons? Does increased sexual risk-taking also occur with these prescription medications when used by a teen without a doctor’s prescription? Clayton et al. (10.1542/peds.2015-2480) reviewed data from recent National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys to look for an association between non-medical prescription use and sexual risk-taking and sadly found such an association.. In fact, use of these prescription drugs without a prescription in teens resulted in an increased risk of being sexually active, multiple partners, and not using a condom among other sexual risk-taking behaviors. As the frequency of non-medical usage of these drugs without a prescription increased, so did the association with sexual risk-taking and in turn increased risk for contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
This is a disturbing report using cross-sectional data that leaves one wanting to do more to stop the non-medical usage of these drugs—and perhaps by limiting the amount we prescribe and monitoring the usage of these drugs in our patients, we can begin to make a dent in the troubling association described in this article which truly is a bitter pill to swallow.
