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Developmental Disabilities |
How common is cerebral palsy?
MADDSP
tracks the number of school-age children living in five counties of
metro Atlanta who have cerebral palsy, hearing loss, vision impairment,
intellectual disabilities, and/or autism spectrum disorders. In 1996, an
estimated 3.6 per 1,000 8-year-old children in metro Atlanta, or about 1
in 278, had cerebral palsy. In 2000, the prevalence was an estimated 3.1
per 1,000, or about 1 in 323, 8-year-olds. In 1996 and 2000,
respectively, 55% and 60% of children with cerebral palsy also had one
or more other developmental disabilities tracked by MADDSP. [Read
more about MADDSP]
CDC also studied how many children in metropolitan Atlanta had cerebral
palsy in the mid-1980s. This project was done as part of the
Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study (MADDS), which
studied how common certain disabilities were in 10-year-old children. We
found that 23 of every 10,000 10-year-old children had cerebral palsy.
Eighty-one percent of the children had spastic cerebral palsy.
Seventy-five percent had one or more other disabilities (epilepsy,
mental retardation, hearing loss, or vision impairment. [Read
a summary of the article about cerebral palsy in MADDS] [Read
more about MADDS]
In another study, CDC used data from the National Health Interview Survey -
Child Health Supplement to find the number of children with cerebral
palsy in the United States in 1988. The survey asked parents, or other
adults, if children in the home had cerebral palsy. The study showed
that 23 of every 10,000 children 17 years of age or younger had cerebral
palsy. [Read
a summary of the article on cerebral palsy in the United States]
Related CDC Activities
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The Autism and Developmental
Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network
tracked the number of children with autism spectrum disorders
and cerebral palsy in three sites in 2002 and 2004 and four
sites in 2006.
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The Epidemiologic Studies of
Reproductive and Developmental Outcomes in Denmark are looking
at the relationship between the risk of cerebral palsy and
exposures such as intrauterine infection during pregnancy and
assisted reproductive technology.
[Return to Topics]
References:
Boyle CA, Decoufle P, Yeargin-Allsopp M. Prevalence and health impact
of developmental disabilities in US children. Pediatrics.
1994;93:399-403. [Read
a summary of the Boyle et al article]
Murphy CC, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Decoufle P, Drews CD. Prevalence of
cerebral palsy among ten-year-old children in metropolitan Atlanta, 1985
through 1987. Journal of Pediatrics 1993;123:S13-20. [Read
a summary of the Murphy et al article]
What causes cerebral palsy?
Can it be prevented?
Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage
that affects a child's ability to control his or her muscles. The part
of the brain that is damaged determines what parts of the body are
affected. There are many possible causes of the brain damage. Some
causes affect how the child's brain develops during the first 6 months
of pregnancy. These causes include genetic conditions and problems with
the blood supply to the brain. Other causes of cerebral palsy happen
after the brain has developed. These causes can occur during later
pregnancy, delivery, or the first years of the child's life. They
include bacterial meningitis and other infections, bleeding in the
brain, lack of oxygen, severe jaundice, and head injury.
Children who are born prematurely or who
are very low birth weight (less than 1,500 grams or about 3 1/3 pounds)
are more likely to have problems that might lead to cerebral palsy.
However, children who are full term and normal birth weight can also
have cerebral palsy.
CDC funds the North Atlantic
Neuro-Epidemiology Alliance (NANEA) to study factors that might make it
more likely a child will develop cerebral palsy. These factors include
infection, bleeding, and raised temperature during pregnancy. The
studies are being done in Denmark. [Read
more on the NANEA Web site - click on Research and then on Cerebral
Palsy]
CDC has studied the causes of cerebral
palsy among 3- to 10-year-old children in MADDSP in 1991. For 10% of the
children, the cause of their cerebral palsy had happened after they were
30 days old. The most common causes in these children were meningitis,
child abuse, stroke, and car crashes. [Read
the MADDSP study of causes of cerebral palsy]
CDC also looked at the causes of cerebral
palsy among 10-year-old children in MADDS in the mid 1980s. For 16% of
the children, the cause of their cerebral palsy also had happened after
they were 30 days old. The most common of these causes were infections,
head injury, and stroke. [Read
a summary of the MADDS study that looked at causes of cerebral palsy]
If you would like to learn more about a
specific genetic condition that you think could cause cerebral palsy,
you can go to the National Library of Medicine's Genetics Home Reference
Web site. Information on each genetic condition includes symptoms, how
common the condition is, related genes, treatments, and links to
resources where you can learn more about the condition. The Genetics
Home Reference Web site also can help you learn more about genetics,
including about genetic testing, genetic counseling, and gene therapy. [Go
to the Genetics Home Reference Web site]
Some causes of cerebral palsy can be
prevented. For example, bike helmets and car seats can prevent head
injuries that might result in cerebral palsy. Another cause that can be
prevented is kernicterus, a kind of brain damage that happens when a
newborn baby has too much jaundice. In some newborn babies, the liver
makes too much yellow pigment, called bilirubin. If too much bilirubin
builds up in a new baby's body, the skin and whites of the eyes turn
yellow. This yellow coloring is called jaundice. A little jaundice is
not a problem. It is actually very common in newborn babies and usually
goes away by itself. Some babies, however, have too much jaundice. If
not treated, these high levels of bilirubin can damage a baby's brain.
Kernicterus most often causes cerebral palsy and hearing loss, but in
some children it can also cause mental retardation. Kernicterus can be
prevented by using special lights (phototherapy) or other therapies to
treat babies. [Read more about kernicterus]
Cerebral palsy cannot be cured. Treatment
can, however, help a person take part in family, school, and work
activities as much as possible. There are many treatments, including
physical therapy, occupational therapy, medicine, operations, and
braces.
[Return to Topics]
References:
Batshaw ML. Children with disabilities
(4th edition). Baltimore MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.;1997.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Postnatal Causes of
Developmental Disabilities in Children Aged 3-10 Years -- Atlanta,
Georgia, 1991. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
1996;45:130-134. [Read
the postnatal causes article]
Geralis E (Editor). Children with cerebral
palsy: a parents' guide. Rockville, MD: Woodbine House; 1991.
Murphy CC, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Decoufle P, Drews CD. Prevalence of
cerebral palsy among ten-year-old children in metropolitan Atlanta, 1985
through 1987. Journal of Pediatrics 1993;123:S13-20. [Read
a summary of the Murphy et al article]
National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke.
Cerebral palsy: hope through research.
What is the cost or economic impact associated with cerebral palsy?
Many people with cerebral palsy need
long-term services or care. The average lifetime cost for one person
with cerebral palsy is estimated to be $921,000 (in 2003 dollars). This
represents costs over and above those experienced by a person who does
not have a disability.
It is estimated that the lifetime costs
for all people with cerebral palsy who were born in 2000 will total
$11.5 billion (in 2003 dollars). These costs include both direct and
indirect costs. Direct medical costs, such as doctor visits,
prescription drugs, and inpatient hospital stays, make up 10% of these
costs. Direct nonmedical expenses, such as home modifications, car
modifications, and special education, make up 9% of the costs. Indirect
costs, which include the value of lost wages when a person dies early,
cannot work, or is limited in the amount or type of work he or she can
do, make up 81% of the costs.
These estimates do not include other
expenses, such as hospital outpatient visits, emergency department
visits, residential care, and family out-of-pocket expenses. The actual
economic costs of cerebral palsy are, therefore, even higher than what
is reported here.
[Return to Topics]
References
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Economic costs associated with mental retardation, cerebral
palsy, hearing loss, and vision impairment --- United States, 2003. MMWR
2004;53:57-9. [Read
this article on economic costs]
Honeycutt AA, Grosse SD, Dunlap LJ,
Schendel DE, Chen H, Brann E, al Homsi G. Economic costs of mental
retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and vision impairment. In:
Altman BM, Barnartt SN, Hendershot GE, Larson SA, editors. Using survey
data to study disability: results from the National Health Interview
Survey on Disability. Research in social science and disability, volume
3. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2003. p. 207-28.
We provide links to other Web pages if you want
to learn even more about a topic. Some of these pages are within the
CDC Web site and others are on outside Web sites. CDC has no control
over the content on these outside sites. Links to such sites
are included for information only. The views and opinions expressed
there are not necessarily those of CDC, the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), or the U.S. Public Health Service
(PHS). |
Date: October 29, 2004
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities
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