title: Cerebral palsy and intrauterine growth in single births: European collaborative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cerebral palsy seems to be more common in term babies whose birthweight is low for their gestational age at delivery, but past analyses have been hampered by small datasets and Z-score calculation methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared data from ten European registers for 4503 singleton children with cerebral palsy born between 1976 and 1990 with the number of births in each study population. Weight and gestation of these children were compared with reference standards for the normal spread of gestation and weight-for-gestational age at birth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Babies of 32-42 weeks' gestation with a birthweight for gestational age below the 10th percentile (using fetal growth standards) were 4-6 times more likely to have cerebral palsy than were children in a reference band between the 25th and 75th percentiles. In children with a weight above the 97th percentile, the increased risk was smaller (from 1.6 to 3.1), but still significant. Those with a birthweight about 1 SD above average always had the lowest risk of cerebral palsy. A similar pattern was seen in those with unilateral or bilateral spasticity, as in those with a dyskinetic or ataxic disability. In babies of less than 32 weeks' gestation, the relation between weight and risk was less clear.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of cerebral palsy, like the risk of perinatal death, is lowest in babies who are of above average weight-for-gestation at birth, but risk rises when weight is well above normal as well as when it is well below normal. Whether deviant growth is the cause or a consequence of the disability remains to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Health, University of Newcastle, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarvis
authors.forename: Svetlana V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Glinianaia
authors.forename: Maria-Giulia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Torrioli
authors.forename: Mary-Jane
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miceli
authors.forename: Pierre-Simon
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Jouk
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hutton
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hemming
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hagberg
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dolk
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chalmers
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development; D010298:Parity / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012015:Reference Standards; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors