Determinants of cerebral palsy in children: systematic review
1Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Debark University, Debark, Ethiopia.
Insights
Premature birth, low birth weight, and low Apgar scores are key determinants of cerebral palsy (CP). Identifying and preventing these risk factors, alongside intrauterine infections, can help reduce CP incidence in children.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) encompasses movement and postural control disorders stemming from nonprogressive brain defects in early development.
- While pre-pregnancy factors like maternal age and diseases are known, in-depth studies on CP causes are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and identify global determinants of cerebral palsy (CP) in children.
- To synthesize findings from quantitative observational studies on factors associated with CP.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review of Google Scholar and PubMed was conducted.
- Inclusion criteria focused on studies with CP as an outcome, identifying associated factors, and quantitative observational designs.
- JBI Critical Appraisal Tools assessed methodological quality, with rigorous appraisal by two independent reviewers.
Main Results:
- Forty consistent determinants of CP were identified from 95 research articles.
- Premature birth and low birth weight were identified as major determinants in 24 studies.
- Low Apgar scores were significant determinants in 15 studies.
Conclusions:
- Common CP determinants include prematurity, low birth weight, low Apgar scores, intrauterine infection, congenital brain malformations, thyroid disease, PROM, and placental abruption.
- Preventing preterm delivery, low birth weight, and intrauterine infections are crucial.
- Immediate neonatal resuscitation for low Apgar scores may aid in CP prevention.
Abstract:
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders of movement and postural control caused by a nonprogressive defect or lesion of the developing brain. Several prepregnancy risk factors have been described including maternal age, parity and maternal diseases including epilepsy, diabetes and thyroid disease. There are few in-depth studies on the causes of CP. In the present systematic review, databases searched were Google Scholar and PubMed to identify data on determinants of CP in the world. Studies were included if they specifically mentioned CP as an outcome, the study objective is to identify factors associated with CP in children and all quantitative observational studies. JBI Critical Appraisal Tools were used to assess the methodological quality of a study. Papers that meet the inclusion criteria were rigorously appraised by two critical appraisers. 40 consistent determinants of CP in children from 95 research articles that meet inclusion criteria are included in the review. The majority of studies (24 articles) showed that premature babies and low weight were determinants of CP in children, whereas 15 studies showed that low Apgar scores were determinants of CP in children. The commonest determinants of CP in children are premature babies and low weight, low Apgar scores, intrauterine infection, congenital brain malformations, thyroid disease, premature rupture of membrane (PROM) and placental abruption. Preventing preterm delivery, low birth weight and intrauterine infection as well as immediate neonatal resuscitation for newborns with low Apgar scores may help to prevent CP in children.
