Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
07:56

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts

Published on: January 29, 2018

Risk of death among children reported for nonfatal maltreatment

Melissa Jonson-Reid1, Toni Chance, Brett Drake

  • 1Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA.

Child Maltreatment
|January 16, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Children with reported maltreatment face double the risk of death before age 18. Most deaths were preventable, often due to accidents or further maltreatment, highlighting critical intervention needs.

Area of Science:

  • Childhood mortality research
  • Pediatric public health
  • Social epidemiology

Background:

  • Child maltreatment is a significant public health issue.
  • Understanding long-term risks for child survivors is crucial.
  • Low-income populations often face disproportionate risks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the risk of childhood death in low-income children following a first reported maltreatment incident.
  • To compare mortality rates between maltreated children and a matched non-maltreated group.
  • To identify causes and timing of death among maltreated children.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal data analysis of 7,433 low-income children.
  • Matched comparison group design.
  • Survival analysis and cause-of-death categorization.

Main Results:

  • Children with reported maltreatment had approximately double the risk of death before age 18 (0.51% vs. 0.27%).
  • Median time from first maltreatment report to death was 9 months.
  • Preventable causes, including accidents and recurrent maltreatment, accounted for the majority of deaths.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood maltreatment significantly increases mortality risk.
  • Early intervention and prevention strategies are critical.
  • Deaths are often preventable, underscoring the need for robust child protective services.

More Related Videos

A Pediatric Concussion Model in Mice: Closed Head Injury with Long-Term Disorders (CHILD)07:01

A Pediatric Concussion Model in Mice: Closed Head Injury with Long-Term Disorders (CHILD)

Published on: February 7, 2025

Related Concept Videos

Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Potential Scenarios01:26

Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Potential Scenarios

Pharmaceutical poisoning can occur through various channels, impacting an estimated 2 million hospitalized patients in the U.S. annually with serious adverse drug responses. These scenarios encompass both therapeutic uses, such as drug toxicity, where even standard dosages can lead to severe central nervous system depression, and non-therapeutic exposures, including accidental ingestion by children, and environmental and occupational exposures.Unintentional poisonings often involve exploratory...
Hazard Rate01:11

Hazard Rate

The hazard rate, also known as the hazard function or failure rate, is a statistical measure used to describe the instantaneous rate at which an event occurs, given that the event has not yet happened. From a probabilistic perspective, it represents the likelihood that a subject will experience the event in a very small time interval, conditional on surviving up to the beginning of that interval. In terms of frequency, the hazard rate can be viewed as the ratio of the number of events to the...
Relative Risk01:12

Relative Risk

Relative risk (RR) is a statistical measure commonly used in epidemiology to compare the likelihood of a particular event occurring between two groups. This metric is important for evaluating the relationship between exposure to a specific risk factor and the probability of a particular outcome. It plays a crucial role in medical research, public health studies, and risk assessment. Relative risk quantifies how much more (or less) likely an event is to occur in an exposed group compared to an...
Drug Toxicity: Risk factors01:24

Drug Toxicity: Risk factors

Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are potential complications that arise during pharmacotherapy, influenced by multiple risk factors. Age plays a significant role; both neonates and the elderly are at heightened risk due to their respective immature and diminished metabolic and elimination processes. Gender also impacts ADRs, with females experiencing a 1.5 to 1.7-fold greater risk than males, which may be linked to pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and hormonal differences. Notably, neonates, the...
Lethal Alleles02:41

Lethal Alleles

Agouti: A Lethal Allele
Lucien Cuénot discovered lethal alleles in 1905 while studying the inheritance of coat color in mice. The agouti gene is responsible for the color of the coat in mice. This gene codes for an agouti-signaling protein, which is responsible for melanin distribution in mammals. The wild-type allele gives rise to gray-brown coat color in mice, while the mutant allele gives rise to yellow coat color. In addition to coat color, the agouti gene is associated with the yellow...
Drug Dosing: Infants and Children01:29

Drug Dosing: Infants and Children

Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...