The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in the rural US rose from 1.2 cases per 1,000 births in 2004 to 7.5 in 2013, compared with an increase from 1.4 cases per 1,000 births to 4.8 over the same period in urban areas, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics. The findings, based on Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality data, also showed that the surge in NAS rates was tied to increasing opioid use among pregnant women.
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