Underage deaths associated with substance‐related harm in Taiwan: A national 10‐year study

AIMS: The objective of this study was to investigate underage deaths of preschool-aged children involving substance detection. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Data from 2013 to 2022 were retrieved from the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Taiwan. CASES: Forty-seven cases of of substance-related deaths among individuals aged ≤5 years. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was the identification of detected substances and their concentrations. Secondary outcomes included the manner and cause of death. FINDINGS: Among the 47 preschool-aged cases, methamphetamine was detected in 66% of them. Drug intoxication (30%) was the most frequently reported primary cause of death, followed by inflicted injury (13%). Lung disease (34%), head trauma (15%), smothering (9%), stillbirth (6%), sudden infant death syndrome (6%), starvation (6%) and choking (6%) were identified as common causes of death. Notably, 66% of the cases involved infants younger than one year, and no deaths were observed among children aged 5 years during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Between 2013 and 2022, the deaths of 47 preschool-aged children in Taiwan involved substance detection, of which methamphetamine was the most frequently detected substance and drug intoxication the most frequently reported primary cause of death.