Prevalence of cerebral palsy in Turkish children between the ages of 2 and 16 years

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) among children in Turkey between the ages of 2 and 16 years. Samples were selected from cities, towns, districts, and villages using the cluster sampling method; 41,861 children were selected. Data was collected by parental interview and physical examination. One hundred and eighty-six children were identified with CP. The prevalence of CP was determined as 4.4 per 1,000 live births and included postnatally acquired CP. Origin of CP was classified as prenatal in 49 (26.6%), perinatal/neonatal in 34 (18.5%), postnatal in 11 (5.9%), and unclassifiable in 90 participants (48.9%; data was unobtainable for two individuals). Type of CP was diplegia in 39.8% of children, hemiplegia in 28%, tetraplegia in 19.9%, ataxia in 5.9%, and dyskinetic in 6.4%. Prenatal factors were seen more frequently in the groups with a high socioeconomic status while perinatal factors were encountered more often in those with a low socioeconomic status (p<0.05). Place of residence and sex had no significant effect on the prevalence of CP (p>0.05). This cross-sectional study shows that the prevalence of CP in Turkey is higher than that in developed countries but the aetiology is probably similar. Although the high prevalence of CP in Turkey could originate from an increased level of obstetric and neonatal problems, the lack of a possible aetiological factor in approximately half the children suggests that the high level might also be due to other factors, such as genetic disorders.

Influence of gestational age on nosologic CP characteristics in a high-risk population

“…In this study, the vast majority of cases are of the spastic type. In both preterm and term cases, the proportion of dyskinetic CP is substantially higher than in geographical-based studies [11,18,19,23,24,29]. Disparity in the terminology used, although most geographical studies are involved in the SCPE, but especially the referral bias affects the results obtained in this study.…”

“…In general, scientific data [5,10,18,19,23,24] regarding the influence of gestational age on nosologic characteristics of CP are narrowed down to either preterm or term infants. In preterm infants, spastic CP is clearly predominant.…”

Dyskinetic cerebral palsy in Europe: trends in prevalence and severity

“…Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is one such subtype accounting for around 10% or less of the entire cerebral palsy population 1 2 3 4 5 6. There is evidence that it occurs mainly in children born at term and is related to adverse perinatal events,4 11 14 but trends over time are inconsistent, most probably due to the problem of small numbers mentioned above.…”

“…In Northern Ireland, it accounted for 3% of children with cerebral palsy born in 1977–1997,2 while in a Swedish report it accounted for 15% of cerebral palsies in children born in 1995–1998 3 4. In other recent studies from Norway5 and Turkey,6 the percentages were 6% and 6.4%, respectively. These differences may be explained by varying diagnostic routines.…”

Depression in mothers of children with cerebral palsy and related factors in Turkey: a controlled study

“…Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common disorders of childhood (Pellegrino and Dormans, 1998), and its prevalence is reported to be 4.4 per 1000 live births in Turkey (Serdaroglu et al, 2006). Although impaired motor function is the hallmark of the CP, many children may have complex limitations in self-care functions because of the sensory, communicative, and intellectual impairments (Rosenbaum et al, 2007).…”