Hospitalisations for physical abuse in infants and children less than 5 years, 2013–2021: a multinational cohort study using administrative data from five European countries

Quantin, Catherine, Cottenet, Jonathan, Chambers, Colleen, Kennedy, Natasha, Whelan, Sadhbh, Debelle, Geoff, Lamela, Diogo, Nurmatov, Ulugbek ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9557-8635, O'Leary, Donna, Torp-Pedersen, Christian, Brophy, Sinéad, Broccia, Marcella, Gilbert, Ruth, Græsholt-Knudsen, Troels and Cowley, Laura Elizabeth 2025. Hospitalisations for physical abuse in infants and children less than 5 years, 2013–2021: a multinational cohort study using administrative data from five European countries. The Lancet Regional Health Europe 52 , 101270. 10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101270

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Abstract

Background: Child physical abuse (CPA) is a global public health problem associated with lifelong negative consequences, yet reliable epidemiologic data are lacking. This multinational cohort study analyses trends in CPA hospitalisations from 2013 to 2021. Methods: We used medico-administrative databases to identify children aged one month to five years hospitalised in Denmark, England, France, Ireland, and Wales. We identified CPA using a validated algorithm based on ICD-10 codes. We calculated the number, proportion, and incidence rate of children hospitalised for CPA, and the number and proportion of total hospitalisations for CPA, by year and age group (<1 and <5). We determined the proportion of CPA hospitalisations recorded using different ICD-10 codes, by country. Findings: The pooled incidence rate of infants <1 year hospitalised for CPA was stable over time (around 42/100,000 per year), ranging on average from 33 to 48/100,000 between countries. The pooled proportion of infant hospitalisations for CPA was around 0.17% (N = 750) per year (range 0.15–0.21%, N range 674–785), increasing significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (0.21%, N = 674). In children <5, the incidence rate (around 18/100,000 per year) and proportion of CPA hospitalisations (around 0.11% per year (N = 1600), range 0.10–0.14% (N range 1341–1657) were lower than in infants, but also increased in 2020 (0.14%, N = 1341). There were national differences in the distribution of ICD-10 codes used to record CPA and differences in year-on-year trends between countries. Interpretation: Comparing temporal trends in CPA hospitalisations between countries is feasible. Hospital data are one of several valuable sources for CPA surveillance.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Medicine
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/, Start Date: 2025-03-05
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2666-7762
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	5 March 2025
Last Modified:	25 Mar 2025 10:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177144

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