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. 2021 Jun;63(6):721-728.
doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14764. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Point prevalence and motor function of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy in Scandinavia and Scotland: a CP-North study

Sandra Julsen Hollung  1 , Gunnar Hägglund  2 , Mark S Gaston  3 , Abdu Kedir Seid  4 , Stian Lydersen  5 , Ann I Alriksson-Schmidt  2 , Guro L Andersen  1
Affiliations

Point prevalence and motor function of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy in Scandinavia and Scotland: a CP-North study

Sandra Julsen Hollung et al. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Aim: To describe the point prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) and distribution of gross and fine motor function in individuals registered in a CP-North surveillance programme.

Method: Aggregate data of individuals with CP aged 6 to 19 years, sex, CP subtype, and gross and fine motor function levels were collected from each programme. Overall and age-specific point prevalence of CP was calculated for each programme using 95% confidence intervals. Logistic regression was used to estimate prevalence and CP subtypes with age as the covariate variable. Pearson χ2 tests were used to compare the distributions of CP subtypes, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels, and Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) levels by age and between programmes.

Results: Among 3 759 138 individuals residing in Scandinavia and Scotland, 8278 had a diagnosis of CP (57-59% were males). The overall point prevalence of CP ranged from 2.13 to 2.32 per 1000 residents. Age-specific prevalence in each programme varied with the exception of Denmark. While the proportions of bilateral spastic CP were similar between programmes, there were variations in all other CP subtypes and in GMFCS and MACS levels.

Interpretation: While the results of this study may reflect real differences in CP populations between countries, they may not be clinically relevant. The variations may be attributable to differences in the year when each programme was first established, different data collection methods, and country-specific governmental policies.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Point prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) per 1000 residents in the CP surveillance programmes/registry in Sweden (CPUP), Norway (CPRN), Scotland (CPIPS), and Denmark (CPOP) on 31st December 2019. Each point shows the actual prevalence. The solid line represents the predicted CP prevalence using logistic regression with fractional polynomials; the shaded area denotes the 95% confidence interval (CI).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distributions of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels in the cerebral palsy (CP) surveillance programmes/registry in Sweden (CPUP), Norway (CPRN), and Scotland (CPIPS) on 31st December 2019. Each point shows the actual distributions. The solid line represents the predicted GMFCS levels obtained using fractional polynomials.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distributions of Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) levels in the cerebral palsy (CP) surveillance programme/registry in Sweden (CPUP) and Norway (CPRN) on 31st December 2019. Each point shows the actual distributions. The solid line represents the predicted MACS levels obtained using fractional polynomials.
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