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Author Spotlight: Exploring the Potential of Massage Therapy in Cerebral Palsy Using Animal Models
Published on: August 11, 2023
Noncommunicable disease among adults with cerebral palsy: A matched cohort study
Jennifer M Ryan1, Mark D Peterson2, Anthony Matthews2
1From the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine (J.M.R.), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin; Institute of Environment, Health and Societies (J.M.R., N.E.O., N.A., C.V.), Brunel University London, UK; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (M.D.P.), University of Michigan-Medicine, Ann Arbor; Departments of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology (A.M.) and Medical Statistics (E.A.), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Department of Cardiology (N.R.), Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, UK; Department of Interventional Cardiology (N.R.), Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain; Department of Psychological Sciences (K.J.S.), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford; and School of Mathematical Sciences (S.L.), Queen Mary University of London, UK. jenniferryan@rcsi.com.
Objective:
To compare the incidence of noncommunicable diseases between adults with and without cerebral palsy (CP).
Methods:
A cohort study was conducted using primary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Cox models, stratified by matched set and adjusted for potential confounders, were fitted to compare the risk of any noncommunicable disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and respiratory disease between adults with and without CP.
Results:
The analysis included 1,705 adults with CP and 5,115 age-, sex-, and general practice-matched adults without CP. There was evidence from adjusted analyses that adults with CP had 75% increased risk of developing any noncommunicable disease compared to adults without CP (hazard ratio [HR] 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.58-1.94). Specifically, they had increased risk of cardiovascular disease (HR 1.76, 95% CI 1.48-2.11) and respiratory disease (HR 2.61, 95% CI 2.14-3.19). There was no evidence of increased risk of cancer or type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Conclusions:
Adults with CP had increased risk of noncommunicable disease, specifically cardiovascular and respiratory disease. These findings highlight the need for clinical vigilance regarding identification of noncommunicable disease in people with CP and further research into the etiology and management of noncommunicable disease in this population.
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