Story highlights Drug overdose death rate among teens 15 to 19 climbed by 19% from 2014 to 2015

Heroin was the leading contributor to teen overdose deaths

(CNN) The rate of teen drug overdose deaths in the United States climbed 19% from 2014 to 2015, from 3.1 deaths per 100,000 teens to 3.7 per 100,000, according to data released this week. The new numbers involve teens ages 15 to 19 and were released by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Most of the overdose deaths were unintentional and driven primarily by opioids, including both prescribed painkillers such as oxycodone and illicit drugs such as heroin and street fentanyl.

Heroin's contribution to teen overdose deaths

Mirroring the larger population, there was a downward trend in overdose deaths from methadone and prescription opioids in recent years but an uptick in deaths involving heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. The rate of teen overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids has increased sevenfold from 0.1 deaths per 100,000 15- to 19-year-olds in 2002 to 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2015.

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving heroin for this age group in 2015 was one for every 100,000 teens. That's three times what it was in 1999, when the rate was 0.3 overdose deaths for every 100,000.