title: Seasonal birth patterns of cerebral palsy in North Carolina.
abstract: This study examined the seasonal birth patterns of patients with cerebral palsy (CP) in North Carolina. Data regarding live births in North Carolina were obtained for years 1980 to 2002 from the National Center for Health Statistics. Data from a pediatric orthopaedic multidisciplinary cerebral palsy clinical database at a regional medical center were weighted against the live births data. The results showed that despite slight fluctuations throughout the year, there was no significant difference between the actual monthly distribution of CP births and the expected monthly distribution (p = .68). There was no significant difference between the actual and expected seasonal distributions for overall CP births (p = .40). In conclusion, the monthly and seasonal distributions of cerebral palsy births are similar to those of live births in North Carolina. This study failed to identify any seasonal birth patterns specific for cerebral palsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas Street, CSB 708, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. jfm3md@aol.com
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.forename: Lawrence P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Jipan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Beth P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Smith