Prevalence of cerebral palsy among ten-year-old children in metropolitan Atlanta, 1985 through 1987.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study was a population-based study (1985 through 1987) to determine the prevalence of five developmental disabilities among 10-year-old children. The disabilities included cerebral palsy, mental retardation, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and epilepsy. The prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) and a description of the children with CP are reported here. Using a record review approach, we identified 204 10-year-old children with CP (resulting in a prevalence of 2.3 per 1000). The rate of CP was significantly higher among boys (prevalence odds ratio = 1.5; 95% confidence interval = 1.1, 2.0), and the rate was also higher among black children than white children (prevalence odds ratio = 1.3; 95% confidence interval = 1.0, 1.7). Thirty-three of the children (16%) acquired CP postnatally; these children were more likely to be black or male. The gender and racial differences found for acquired CP were greater than those for congenital CP. Approximately 75% of the children had one of the other four disabilities studied; 65% of the children were mentally retarded, 46% had epilepsy, and 15% had a sensory impairment. Our multiple-source method of identifying children with CP gave us a population-based sample from which to determine the prevalence of the condition and to study factors that are associated with CP.
Murphy
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Office of Epidemiology, Georgia Department of Human Resources, Atlanta.
Yeargin-Allsopp
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Decouflé
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Drews
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D044383:Black People; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications / Q000151:congenital / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014505:Urban Population; D001741:Black or African American