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Incidence of Injury, Maltreatment, and Developmental Disorders Among Substance Exposed Infants

Anna E Austin1,2, Molly Curtin Berkoff3, Meghan E Shanahan1,2

  • 1Department of Maternal and Child Health, 2331University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Child Maltreatment
|June 11, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Infants exposed to substances prenatally had higher rates of maltreatment and developmental disorders. This highlights the need for targeted monitoring and interventions for these vulnerable infants.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Federal legislation mandates addressing needs of infants with prenatal substance exposure.
  • Establishing baseline risk for substance-exposed infants is crucial for system-level responses.
  • Understanding clinical outcomes informs targeted interventions and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine clinical outcomes in infants with prenatal substance exposure before recent legislative changes.
  • To compare diagnoses of injury, maltreatment, and developmental disorders between substance-exposed and unexposed infants.
  • To establish a baseline for risk assessment and inform public health strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Medicaid data from North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas.
  • Examined inpatient and outpatient diagnoses prior to 12 months of age.
  • Compared incidence and types of diagnoses between exposed and unexposed infant groups.

Main Results:

  • Substance-exposed infants showed significantly higher cumulative incidence of maltreatment (1.2% vs. 0.2%) and developmental disorders (10.7% vs. 1.5%).
  • Injury diagnosis incidence was similar between groups (3.7% vs. 3.4%).
  • Neglect diagnoses were more common in substance-exposed infants, while physical abuse diagnoses were more common in unexposed infants.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal substance exposure is associated with increased risk for maltreatment and developmental disorders in infants.
  • Findings underscore the importance of tailored monitoring and intervention strategies for substance-exposed infants.
  • Results provide critical data for medical and public health professionals to guide care and policy.

Keywords:
child maltreatmentepidemiologyinfantspublic Healthsubstance abuse

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