title: Survey of Neurological Disorders in Children Aged 9-15 Years in Northern India.
abstract: The prevalence of neurological disorders in resource-poor settings, although likely to be high, is largely unexplored. The prevalence and risk factors for neurological disorders, including epilepsy and intellectual, motor, vision, and hearing deficits, in children aged 9 to 15 years in the community were investigated. A new instrument was developed, validated, and used in a 2-stage community survey for neurological disorders in Lucknow, India. Screen-positives and random proportion of screen-negatives were validated using predefined criteria. Prevalence of different neurological disorders was calculated by weighted proportions. Of 6431 children screened, 221 were positive. A total of 214 screen-positives and 251 screen-negatives were validated. Prevalence of neurological disorders was 31.3 per 1000 children of this age group (weighted 95% confidence interval = 16.5, 46.4). The final model for risk factors included age, mud house, delayed cry at birth, and previous head injury. The prevalence of neurological disorders is high in this region. Predictors of neurological disorders are largely modifiable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India rashmik2005@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rashmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhave
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King George Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Roli
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhargava
authors.affiliation: University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Agarwal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: India; disability; epidemiology; neurological disorders; risk factors