TUESDAY, March 31, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Kratom-related reports to poison centers are increasing, especially among certain demographic groups, according to research published in the March 26 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Eleanor Blair Towers, Ph.D., from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and colleagues analyzed data on kratom-related use that resulted in a report to the National Poison Data System during 2015 to 2025 to assess trends by exposure report type, demographic characteristics of persons exposed, and outcomes.
The researchers found that poison centers received a total of 14,449 kratom exposure reports during the past 11 years; the record high of 3,434 reports in 2025 represented an increase of about 1,200 percent versus 258 reports in 2015. Most reports involved males and those aged 20 to 39 years, but the sharpest increase was seen among adults aged 40 to 59 years, with rates nearly overlapping those for young adults by 2025. Most reports (62 percent) were single-substance exposure reports, but multiple-substance reports occurred at higher rates (467 to 5,442 versus 388 to 4,045 per 1 million drug exposure reports) and were associated with more hospitalizations (44 to 56 versus 24 to 29 percent annually) and serious outcomes (57 to 66 versus 41 to 49 percent annually); during the study period, multiple-substance exposures also accounted for most kratom-associated deaths (79 percent).
“We are experiencing a marked increase in kratom associated products being sold in the U.S. market,” study author Chris Holstege, M.D., from the University of Virginia Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center, said in a news release. “We want the public to be aware that these products contain chemicals of varying concentrations such as mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine that have complex pharmacological actions and can cause drug interactions and adverse consequences in humans.”