What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to quantify the disease burden caused by child maltreatment in Australia and develop new methods for assessment.

April 17, 2026Open Access

Estimating burden of disease attributable to child maltreatment using findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study

RPRosana Pacella BMBen MathewsJohns Hopkins University DLDavid LawrenceCurtin University

Key Points

This research aims to quantify the disease burden caused by child maltreatment in Australia and develop new methods for assessment.
Utilized findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study
Combined five forms of child maltreatment in the analysis
Measured impact on mental health and health risk behaviors
Child maltreatment accounts for a substantial proportion of disease burden
Equivalent to other major risk factors like high BMI and smoking
Provides a new approach to assess health impacts nationally and globally

Abstract

Child maltreatment contributes to a substantial proportion of burden of disease in Australia, equivalent to leading lifestyle-related risk factors such as high body mass index, high blood pressure and smoking. This research significantly advances knowledge of the disease burden attributable to child maltreatment and provides novel methodology for measuring the impact of all five forms of child maltreatment combined on mental health and health risk behaviours nationally and globally.

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