Contribution of ethnicity and deprivation to paediatric critical care outcomes in the UK, 2008–21: a national retrospective cohort study (10 July 2025)

Summary

Evidence from UK paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) demonstrates increased incidence of admission among children of Asian and Black ethnicity and children residing in more deprived areas. The authors of this study aimed to investigate whether mortality in PICU is associated with ethnicity and child poverty.

The study highlights a clear effect of ethnicity and deprivation on outcomes of children admitted to PICU. These findings underscore the need for research into the underlying mechanisms, including access barriers tied to deprivation, marginalisation, immigration, and language, to clearly understand these mechanisms to enable targeted intervention. Additionally, coordinated action to address the upstream social determinants of child health is urgently needed. Interventions aimed at reducing poverty, improving access to health care, and addressing structural barriers in marginalised communities are likely to be crucial in reducing disparities in critical care outcomes.

Given that the most deaths both in PICU and nationally occur in children aged younger than 1 year, investment into high-quality, accessible early-years care is particularly important. This study is UK-based, but the findings have international relevance, highlighting the need for health systems globally to engage with the social context in which critically ill children live and present for care.