Two new studies by researchers from the International Program at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Wuhan Children’s Hospital in China examine pediatric traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) — of growing public health concern in China — that were treated at Wuhan Children’s Hospital from 2002 to 2011.

The first study, which appears in the December 2012 print issue of PLOS ONE, investigated the causes, characteristics and trends of pediatric TBIs in China. It found that falls, struck by/against objects and traffic collisions were the top external causes of TBI. The study also discovered that approximately six percent of all TBIs among children under two years of age were caused by suspected child abuse. This is the first study to highlight the important role of suspected child abuse in causing TBIs among infants in China and has led to the second study, in the November 2012 issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, which examined abuse-related TBIs among children in China. For more information, click here to read the full release.