Temporal Trends in Adverse Effects of Medical Treatment Among Chinese Children and Adolescents, 1990-2021: Evidence From the Global Burden of Disease 2021 Study.

Objective: To evaluate the longitudinal patterns of the burden of adverse effects of medical treatment (AEMT) in children and adolescents in China from 1990 to 2021.

Methods: Data used in this study were obtained from public data sets of the Global Burden of Disease 2021. AEMT was defined as harm resulting from procedures, treatments, or other contacts with the health care system. The case number, crude rates, and age-standardised rates (ASR) of incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), grouped by age and sex, were the primary outcomes for evaluating the burden of AEMT in Chinese children and adolescents (<20 y). The Age-Period-Cohort (A-P-C) model was used to analyze the changes in AEMT incidence rate by distinguishing the contributions of age, period, and cohort effects.

Results: In China, the case number and ASR of incidence, deaths, and DALYs in children and adolescents showed significant decreasing trends from 1990 to 2021. In 2021, there were 85,649 incident cases, 369 deaths, and 31,833 DALYs. Age subgroup analysis demonstrated a substantial reduction in the burden of AEMT across 9 age groups. The A-P-C analysis indicated the highest incidence rate of AEMT in children under 5 years of age, and there were predominantly favorable trends in period and birth cohort effects.

Conclusions: Although the burden of AEMT in children and adolescents in China has decreased significantly from 1990 to 2021, patient safety for children under 5 years of age still needs attention, especially for neonates.