How Much More Data Do We Need? Making the Case for Investing in Our Children.

Abstract

* Abbreviations: ACE — : adverse childhood experience CPS — : Child Protective Services Child maltreatment is well recognized as one of the most significant contributors to pediatric morbidity and mortality throughout the world.1,2 The effect of child maltreatment on morbidity and mortality in older adults has been documented for >20 years as demonstrated by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study.3 The impact of maltreatment on teenage suicide and other mental health diagnoses is also well known.4,5 To date, however, a direct relationship between maltreatment specifically, rather than the broader risk of ACES, and mortality in teenagers and young adults had not been reported. In this issue of Pediatrics , Segal et al6 evaluated this potential relationship by linking >50 administrative data sets from South Australia that included data from >300 000 children born between 1986 and 2003 who survived to age 16. The authors examined the relationship among multiple demographic factors, Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement, and mortality from 1990 to 2019. For the 20% of children with CPS contact before age 16, the nature of the contact was divided into 7 categories, which included “investigation only,” “substantiation,” and “removal to … Address correspondence to Rachel Berger, MD, MPH, Department of Pediatrics, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 4401 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. E-mail: rachel.berger{at}chp.edu