Underlying Causes of Death among Adults with Cerebral Palsy

Adults with cerebral palsy (CP) represent a growing population whose healthcare needs are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the underlying causes of death (UCOD) among adults with CP in the United States.

A national cohort was created from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database from 1999 to 2019. The UCOD was determined using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10 code G80x, Infantile CP) based on death certificate adjudication. Crude and age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs), as well as 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for adults with CP.

There were 25,138 deaths where CP was listed as the UCOD between 1999-2019. There was a steady increase in the UCOD attributable to CP in both crude mortality rates and AAMRs, with the highest rates occurring in 2019. The highest co-occurring secondary causes of death were other diseases of the nervous system (e.g., epilepsy), diseases of the respiratory system (e.g., pneumonia), symptoms, signs, and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (e.g., dysphagia), and diseases of the circulatory system (e.g., cardiovascular disease).

Listing the UCOD as CP should be accompanied by other mechanisms leading to mortality in this population.