Opioid-related deaths on the rise in children, study says

(CNN) - The number of children in the U.S. who have died from opioid overdoses is on the rise.

According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics, 731 children under the age of five died in a drug-related death from 2005 through 2018.

Researchers say some of these deaths came from the use of over-the-counter medications, but the majority of these fatal poisonings were from opioids.

The study does not say how these children were able to get their hands on the drugs but does note that more than 40% of them were accidental overdoses.

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