Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40224370›Full record

ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Europe2025

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.

Catherine Quantin, Jonathan Cottenet, Colleen Chambers, Natasha Kennedy, Sadhbh Whelan, Geoff Debelle, Diogo Lamela, Ulugbek Nurmatov, Donna O'Leary, Christian Torp-Pedersen and 5 more

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Article in The Lancet regional health. Europe, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Catherine QuantinBiostatistics and Bioinformatics (DIM), University Hospital, Bourgogne Franche-Comté University, Dijon, France.
Jonathan CottenetBiostatistics and Bioinformatics (DIM), University Hospital, Bourgogne Franche-Comté University, Dijon, France.
Colleen ChambersUniversity College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Natasha KennedyNational Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research, Swansea University, Wales, UK.
Sadhbh WhelanResearch and Evaluation Unit, The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Dublin, Ireland.
Geoff DebelleBirmingham Women and Children's Hospital Foundation NHS Trust, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK.
Diogo LamelaLusófona University, Digital Human-Environment Interaction Labs (HEI-Lab), Porto, Portugal.
Ulugbek NurmatovDivision of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Donna O'LearyTusla Child and Family Agency, Ireland.
Christian Torp-PedersenDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sinéad BrophyNational Centre for Population Health and Wellbeing Research, Swansea University, Wales, UK.
Marcella BrocciaDepartment of Cardiology, Nordsjaellands Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark.
Ruth GilbertUniversity College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Troels Græsholt-KnudsenDepartment of Forensic Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Laura Elizabeth CowleyPopulation Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Wales, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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. Funding: European COST Action EURO-CAN. European Union (HORIZON Europe SERENA project).

Indexed as

Administrative dataChild physical abuseHospital dataIncidence

Identifiers

PMID40224370
PMCPMC11987682

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.