Markedly increased mortality rate in children of parents on illegal hard drugs: Results of a 6-year monocentric study

Abstract

Background: At least 60,000 children in Germany live in a domestic environment of illegal drug abuse, often combined with violence, drug-related crime and prostitution. These children are at high risk of becoming victims or witnesses of domestic violence; however, no systematic studies have been published in the last 30 years reviewing fatalities in connection with parental abuse of illegal hard drugs. Objective: To investigate to what extent parental consumption of illegal hard drugs is associated with death or severe bodily harm to the child. Material and methods: A retrospective, unicentric cohort study at the University Hospital of Aachen was conducted over a period of 72 months investigating the frequency of fatalities or severe bodily harm to children in connection with parental use of illegal hard drugs in Aachen. All patients (age 0–18 years) admitted to the department of pediatrics at the University Hospital of Aachen, where parental drug abuse (apart from alcohol and medication) had most probably had life-threatening or fatal consequences for the child were identified. Results: Of the total cohort of 29,141 inpatient admissions reviewed 5 met the inclusion criteria. In three cases parental drug abuse led to the child’s death, in one case the psychomotor development of the child was dramatically delayed and in one case a fatality was avoided by taking the child out of danger. The probability of death was tenfold higher in children whose parents were on illegal hard drugs than in the control group. Conclusion: Parental consumption of illegal hard drugs is a relevant risk factor for endangerment of child welfare with severe and even fatal consequences, particularly in the age group of 0–5 years and leads to a markedly increased probability of death.