title: Cerebral palsy in southern Sweden II. Gross motor function and disabilities.
abstract: The gross motor function and disabilities in children with cerebral palsy in southern Sweden were investigated and related to clinical features. The study covered the birth year period 1990-1993 and comprised 167 children, 145 of them born in Sweden and 22 born abroad. The clinical features and gross motor function were analysed at a mean age of 6.8 y. Clinical features were obtained from a continuing healthcare follow-up programme. Gross motor function was classified according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Walking independently was possible for 86% of the hemiplegic, 63% of the pure ataxic, 61% of the diplegic and 21% of the dyskinetic children. None of the tetraplegic children was able to walk. The classification of gross motor function revealed that 59% of the children were categorized into levels I and II (mildly disabled), 14% into level III (moderately disabled) and 27% into levels IV and V (severely disabled). Children born abroad were more severely disabled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The standardized age-related classification system GMFCS enabled a specific description of gross motor function in relation to clinical features. Significant differences between GMFCS levels and subgroups of diagnosis, aetiology. intellectual capacity, epilepsy and visual impairment were found.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Lund University, Sweden. eva.nordmark@sjukgym.lu.se
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nordmark
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hägglund
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lagergren
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D010243:Paralysis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology