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Childhood Health and Educational outcomes afteR perinatal Brain injury (CHERuB): protocol for a population-matched
Philippa Rees1, Chris Gale2, Cheryl Battersby3
1Population Policy and Practice, University College London Institute of Child Health, London, UK p.rees@ucl.ac.uk.
Insights
This study tracks over 54,000 infants with perinatal brain injury to understand long-term health and education outcomes. The Childhood Health and Educational outcomes afteR perinatal Brain injury (CHERuB) study links health records to assess impacts on children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Public Health Research
Background:
- Over 3000 infants in England annually experience brain injury around birth.
- The long-term implications of these injuries on children's lives are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate longitudinal childhood health and educational outcomes following perinatal brain injury.
- To create a population-matched cohort study for comprehensive outcome analysis.
Main Methods:
- The CHERuB study includes all children born with perinatal brain injury in England (2008-2019).
- Two matched control groups (preterm and term/late preterm infants without brain injury) were established.
- National health, education, and social care records (2008-2023) will be linked for longitudinal outcome assessment.
Main Results:
- The study cohort comprises approximately 170,000 children, including over 54,000 with perinatal brain injury.
- Associations between perinatal brain injuries and survival, neurodevelopmental, chronic health, and mental health conditions will be examined.
Conclusions:
- This large-scale cohort study will provide crucial insights into the long-term effects of perinatal brain injury.
- Findings will inform clinical practice, support services, and policy development for affected children and families.
Introduction:
Over 3000 infants suffer a brain injury around the time of birth every year in England. Although these injuries can have important implications for children and their families, our understanding of how these injuries affect children's lives is limited.
Methods And Analysis:
The aim of the CHERuB study (Childhood Health and Educational outcomes afteR perinatal Brain injury) is to investigate longitudinal childhood health and educational outcomes after perinatal brain injury through the creation of a population-matched cohort study. This study will use the Department of Health and Social Care definition of perinatal brain injury which includes infants with intracranial haemorrhage, preterm white matter injury, hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, perinatal stroke, central nervous system infections, seizures and kernicterus. All children born with a perinatal brain injury in England between 2008 and 2019 will be included (n=54 176) and two matched comparator groups of infants without brain injury will be created: a preterm control group identified from the National Neonatal Research Data Set and a term/late preterm control group identified using birth records. The national health, education and social care records of these infants will be linked to ascertain their longitudinal childhood outcomes between 2008 and 2023. This cohort will include approximately 170 000 children. The associations between perinatal brain injuries and survival without neurosensory impairment, neurodevelopmental impairments, chronic health conditions and mental health conditions throughout childhood will be examined using regression methods and time-to-event analyses.
Ethics And Dissemination:
This study has West London Research Ethics Committee and Confidential Advisory Group approval (20/LO/1023 and 22/CAG/0068 issued 20/10/2022). Findings will be published in open-access journals and publicised via the CHERuB study website, social media accounts and our charity partners.
