Drugs at their fingertips, intense pressure: Why child stars fall into addiction

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on their part, according to police.It is not known if drugs or alcohol played a factor in her death, but the US Drug Enforcement Agency is joining an investigation into her death, according to US media reports. Panettiere is one of many actors who has openly struggled with Addiction after exposure to fame at an early age, which Addiction experts told the BBC can put people at risk for Mental Health and substance abuse issues.It can sometimes seem to the rest of the world that child actors have "everything" at their fingertips - like fame and money, said Lucas Trautman, the medical director of Oxford Treatment Center, an Addiction treatment centre in Mississippi. "But it's important to remember that they were also exposed during a developmental time to many adult aspects of life that the rest of us weren't - including traumatic experiences - and so that gives them unique risk factors for Addiction," Trautman said. Panettiere's death comes after she published a memoir where she discussed at length her issues with Addiction, her postpartum depression and the loss of her 28-year-old brother.Panettiere's decision to publicly share her struggles is worthy of respect, said William Moyers, the vice-president of public affairs for Hazelden Betty Ford, the largest nonprofit Addiction treatment provider in the US. But he said the constant public scrutiny she faced may not have allowed her room to address her Mental Health in private. "Her entire life from the beginning was centred in the intense public spotlight, and this didn't give Hayden much in the way of a respite," said Moyers, who has been in recovery from an Addiction since 1989.