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Risk of cerebral palsy in term‐born singletons according to growth status at birth
Author(s) -
Dahlseng Magnus Odin,
Andersen Guro L,
Irgens Lorentz M,
Skranes Jon,
Vik Torstein
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/dmcn.12293
Subject(s) - cerebral palsy , medicine , anthropometry , spastic , head circumference , birth weight , pediatrics , incidence (geometry) , low birth weight , relative risk , confidence interval , pregnancy , physical therapy , mathematics , biology , geometry , genetics
Aims An excess risk of cerebral palsy ( CP ) has been reported in children of both low and high birthweight. However, the risk associated with deviations from the mean of other anthropometric measurements has been less well studied. The aim of our study therefore was to determine the association between size measurements at birth and incidence of CP in singletons born at term. Method Standard deviation z‐scores for weight, length, head circumference, and ponderal index at birth of term‐born singletons born between 1996 and 2006 were calculated using data from the M edical B irth R egistry of N orway. The measurements of 398 children with CP recorded in the C erebral P alsy R egistry of N orway were compared with those of 490 022 typically developing infants. Results Children with low birthweight ( p <0.001; <10th centile) as well as low and high z‐scores for length ( p <0.001 and p <0.001) and head circumference ( p <0.001 and p <0.003; <90th centile) had an excess risk of CP , in particular of spastic bilateral CP . Spastic unilateral CP was associated only with low z‐scores, whereas children with the greatest body length and largest head circumference, but with low ponderal index, had an excess risk of spastic quadriplegic and dyskinetic CP . Interpretation Our results are consistent with the notion that most subtypes of CP are due to antenatal factors leading to poor intrauterine growth, whereas CP in children who were large at birth is more likely to be due to intrapartum factors.