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Children at risk of medicinal and non-medicinal poisoning: a population-based case-control study in general practice

Edward G Tyrrell1, Elizabeth Orton, Laila J Tata

  • 1Church Street Medical Centre, Eastwood, Nottingham, United Kingdom.

The British Journal of General Practice : the Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
|December 6, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Preschool children face high poisoning risks, particularly from medications. Key risk factors include socioeconomic deprivation, maternal age, birth order, maternal alcohol misuse, and perinatal depression.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Toxicology
  • Public Health
  • Family Medicine

Background:

  • Preschool children are a vulnerable population with a high incidence of poisoning.
  • Medications prescribed in primary care settings are significant potential poisoning agents.
  • Risk factors specifically associated with medication poisoning in young children require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To ascertain risk factors contributing to both medicinal and non-medicinal poisoning incidents in preschool-aged children.
  • To inform targeted prevention strategies by identifying key demographic and social determinants.

Main Methods:

  • A population-based nested case-control study was conducted utilizing The Health Improvement Network (THIN) primary care database (1988-2004).
  • Conditional logistic regression analysis was employed to identify child, maternal, and social risk factors for medicinal (1316 cases) and non-medicinal poisoning (503 cases), with 17,709 matched controls.

Main Results:

  • Medicinal poisoning was significantly associated with socioeconomic deprivation, younger maternal age, higher birth order, maternal alcohol misuse (OR=5.44), and perinatal depression (OR=1.54).
  • Living with multiple adults reduced poisoning odds compared to single-parent households. Poisoning risk peaked in 2-year-olds (OR=9.61).
  • Non-medicinal poisoning correlated with deprivation, maternal age, and birth order, with elevated risk in 1- and 2-year-olds.

Conclusions:

  • Primary care data offer a valuable resource for identifying children at elevated risk of poisoning.
  • Early identification of maternal mental health issues (depression) and substance misuse is crucial for implementing timely poisoning prevention interventions.
  • Proactive interventions during primary care prescribing can mitigate risks associated with medications becoming poisoning agents.
Abstract

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