Persistence of Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis: Assessment of a Low-Birth-Weight Cohort at Ages 2, 6, and 9 Years.
We examined the stability of nondisabling and disabling cerebral palsy at age 2 in a longitudinally followed tri-county low-birth-weight (<2000 g) birth cohort. A total of 1105 newborns were enrolled, 901 (81.5%) survived to age 2, and 86% (n = 777) were followed up. Of the 113 cerebral palsy diagnoses at age 2, 61 (9% of the cohort, n = 61/777) had disabling cerebral palsy and 52 (7%, n = 52/777) had nondisabling cerebral palsy. Of 48 followed children diagnosed with disabling cerebral palsy at age 2, 98% were again classified as having cerebral palsy at school age, and 1 had an uncertain cerebral palsy status. By contrast, 41% (n = 17) of the 43 children diagnosed with nondisabling cerebral palsy at age 2 were classified as not having cerebral palsy. Of the 517 followed children who were not diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 2, 7% (n = 35) were classified as having late emerging nondisabling cerebral palsy at school age.
Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Detroit, MI, USA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA skorzeni@med.wayne.edu.
Steven J
SJ
Korzeniewski
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Judith F
JF
Feldman
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
John M
JM
Lorenz
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Jennifer A
JA
Pinto-Martin
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Agnes H
AH
Whitaker
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Nigel
N
Paneth
D000367:Age Factors; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
motor disorder improvement; transient cerebral palsy