Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Event-related Potentials During Target-response Tasks to Study Cognitive Processes of Upper Limb Use in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy
Published on: January 11, 2016
Congenital anomalies in children with cerebral palsy: a population-based record linkage study
Judith Rankin1, Christine Cans, Ester Garne
1Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. j.m.rankin@ncl.ac.uk <j.m.rankin@ncl.ac.uk>
Insights
Congenital anomalies (CA) affect 15% of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Cerebral anomalies are most common in ataxic CP, while cardiac and urinary anomalies are frequent in non-cerebral cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology
- Medical Genetics
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a complex developmental disorder.
- Congenital anomalies (CA) are common in infants.
- Understanding the co-occurrence of CP and CA is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of congenital anomalies (CA) in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
- To classify the types of congenital anomalies associated with CP.
- To compare CA prevalence across different CP subtypes and birth characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Utilized population-based registries for CP and CA in three European regions.
- Linked birth and anomaly data for children born between 1991 and 1999.
- Manually verified all potential data matches to ensure accuracy.
Main Results:
- 15% of 1104 children with CP had a congenital anomaly.
- Cerebral anomalies occurred in 8.8% of children with CP, non-cerebral in 4.8%.
- Prevalence varied by CP subtype (e.g., 41.7% in ataxic CP) and was higher in term births.
Conclusions:
- Congenital anomalies are more prevalent in children with CP than in the general live birth population.
- Specific cerebral anomalies like microcephaly and hydrocephalus were frequent.
- Associated impairments were more common in children with CP and cerebral anomalies.
Aim:
Our aim was to determine the proportion of children with cerebral palsy (CP) who have a congenital anomaly (CA) in three regions (Isère Region, French Alps; Funen County, Denmark; Northern Region, England) where population-based CP and CA registries exist, and to classify the children according to CA subtype.
Method:
Data for children born between 1991 and 1999 were linked using electronic matching of cases. All potential matches were checked manually by each centre and verified as true matches.
Results:
A total of 1104 children with CP were born during the study period (663 males, 441 females). Of these, 166 (15%; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 13.0-17.3) children with CP had a CA: 8.8% had a cerebral anomaly, 4.8% had a non-cerebral anomaly, and 1.4% had a non-cerebral-related syndrome or a chromosomal/genetic anomaly.
Interpretation:
The prevalence of cerebral anomaly was highest in children with ataxic CP (41.7%) and lowest in those with dyskinetic CP (2.1%). Cerebral anomalies were found in 8.4% and 7% of children with bilateral and unilateral spastic CP respectively. The most frequent cerebral anomalies were primary microcephaly (26.5%) and congenital hydrocephalus (17.3%). The most common non-cerebral anomalies recorded were cardiac (12.6% of children with CP and CA), urinary (5.4%), and musculoskeletal (5.4%). The prevalence of cerebral anomalies was higher among children born at term (13%) than among those born preterm (3.8%). Associated sensorineural or intellectual impairments occurred more often in children with CP and cerebral anomalies. We concluded that cerebral and non-cerebral CA prevalence was higher among the CP population than in the general population of live births.
