A clinicoepidemiological study of cerebral palsy among children attending Medical Rehabilitation and Rheumatology Center

Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term used to accurately describe a group of permanent movement and posture disorders that cause activity limitations and are caused by nonprogressive disturbances in the developing fetal or infant’s brain. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors, comorbidities, and associated clinical problems with CP. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among children with CP who attended the Medical Rehabilitation and Rheumatology Center for the first time. A random sample of 76 children aged ≤1 to 5 years who were clinically diagnosed with CP was enrolled in this study. The data were collected between January 2021 and December 2021. Sociodemographics, etiology, risk factors associated with the neonatal period, factors related to obstetric histories, and CP classification were typically gathered from a questionnaire designed for this purpose. Results: The majority of participants were males, 63.2%, compared with females; 47.3% of infants were born at a low birth weight <2500 g. Two-thirds of children, 64.5%, were diagnosed with CP before 1 year. Neonatal jaundice was present in 56.6% of newborns. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, 47.4%, is the most significant perinatal risk factor for CP. First-degree consanguineous marriage was observed in 35.5% of the studied sample. The mothers of 70, 92.2%, children with CP were multiparous. Most of the patients, 72.4%, had spastic CP, and quadriplegia was primarily reported in 51.3% of them. Conclusions: CP cannot be prevented in most cases, but the risk factors can be reduced. Early diagnosis gives the multidisciplinary team the opportunity for early intervention and rehabilitation.

Keywords

• cerebral palsy
• comorbidities
• epidemiology
• etiologies
• risk factors