Hospital contacts before childhood cancer and the risk of early mortality: a Danish and Swedish population-based cohort study
Menée à partir de données portant sur 14 089 enfants atteints d'un cancer diagnostiqué entre 1989 et 2014 au Danemark ou en Suède, cette étude de cohorte analyse l'association entre des hospitalisations avant le diagnostic de la maladie et le risque de décès prématuré
Background: Limited knowledge exists on the association between hospital contacts before a childhood cancer diagnosis and the risk of early mortality.
Methods: We conducted a register-based cohort study including 14,089 children with cancer diagnosed in 1989 − 2014 in Denmark and Sweden. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of early mortality (deaths within 0-90 days) were estimated by nights in hospital up to two years prior cancer diagnosis and diagnoses within specific main diagnostic categories using logistic regression.
Results: Children hospitalized ≥14 nights within 2 years−14 days and 3 months−14 days before cancer diagnosis faced elevated ORs of early mortality (4.6, 95% CI 3.2–6.4; 4.4, 2.9–6.7). The association was not explained by maternal education. Early mortality was associated with diagnoses within several diagnostic categories prior to cancer diagnosis, including infectious (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.0) and endocrine diseases (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.02–2.5), blood (OR 3.3, 95% CI 2.1–5.1) and digestive disorders (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4–2.6), and symptoms with no specific diagnosis (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–8).
Conclusion: Children with increased time in hospital before cancer diagnosis had a higher risk for early mortality, which indicates underlying health vulnerabilities or pre-existing fragility in this population.
British Journal of Cancer , résumé, 2026