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Incidence of hospitalized abusive head trauma among infants in Japan, 2014-2022

Tomoki Kawahara1, Yui Yamaoka2, Kiyohide Fushimi3

  • 1Department of Clinical Information Applied Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Child Abuse & Neglect
|May 30, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Hospitalized abusive head trauma (AHT) incidence in infants in Japan remained stable from 2014-2022. Neither the COVID-19 pandemic nor increased male childcare leave significantly impacted AHT rates.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Forensic Medicine

Background:

  • Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a critical cause of infant mortality due to maltreatment.
  • Understanding AHT incidence is vital for developing effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the annual incidence of hospitalized AHT in Japanese infants between 2014 and 2022.
  • To evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising male childcare leave on AHT rates.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of the nationwide Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database in Japan.
  • Identification of AHT admissions using ICD-10 codes for infants under one year old.
  • Comparison of AHT incidence rates between pre-COVID-19 (2014-2019) and COVID-19 (2020-2022) periods.

Main Results:

  • A total of 755 presumptive and 5019 possible AHT admissions were identified.
  • Presumptive AHT incidence showed yearly fluctuations but no significant overall trend (P=0.91).
  • No significant association was observed between AHT incidence and male childcare leave uptake (ρ=0.15, P=0.70).

Conclusions:

  • Hospitalized AHT incidence in Japan remained consistent over the 9-year study period.
  • Population-level data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic and increased male childcare leave did not measurably alter the burden of AHT.
Abstract

Keywords:
Abusive head traumaInfant injury epidemiologyJapanNationwide hospital dataShaken baby syndrome

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