Perinatal medication as a potential risk factor for adult drug abuse in a North American cohort

The aim of this study was to explore perinatal exposures to medications as risk factors for adult drug abuse. We compared 69 drug abusing subjects and their 33 non abusing siblings with regard to history of labor pain analgesia during birth and other obstetric variables. Three or more doses of opiates or barbiturates at birth yielded an OR of 4.7 (95% CI = 1.0-44.1) for becoming a drug abuser after multiple perinatal drug exposure.