(KAIR)--The State Child Death Review Board has released its annual report, revealing what a release calls "a troubling rise in drug-related deaths among Kansas children aged 0-17."

According to the release, issued by the office of Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, the number of such deaths, in 2022, increased to 16, up from 11 in 2021, highlighting what the release identifies as "a significant and alarming trend associated with fentanyl."

The report, which analyzes deaths of children from birth to age 17, reflects a broader national crisis, with the CDC reporting 107,941 drug overdose deaths for all age groups in 2022.

In recent years, both nationally and in Kansas, the data shows an increase in the use of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which the release says "is frequently incorporated into illicitly manufactured pressed pills and mixed with other substances without the knowledge of the end user."

According to the board report, there were ten drug-related deaths in children ages 4 or younger between 2019 and 2022, six being the result of the child finding unsecured illicit drugs. In 2018, the state recorded zero drug-related deaths in that age category. For older youth, counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl are a rising concern as 69% of the drug-related deaths during this time period were in youth ages 15-17, many of whom, the release says, "were experimenting with drugs without knowledge there was fentanyl."

Overall, the report revealed that Kansas recorded 389 child fatalities in 2022, an increase from 349 in 2021, resulting in an overall child death rate of 56.3 deaths per 100,000 population.