Premium
Health status of school‐aged children with cerebral palsy: information from a population‐based sample
Author(s) -
Kennes Janneke,
Rosenbaum Peter,
Hanna Steven E,
Walter Stephen,
Russell Dianne,
Raina Parminder,
Bartlett Doreen,
Galuppi Barbara
Publication year - 2002
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/j.1469-8749.2002.tb00799.x
Subject(s) - gross motor function classification system , cerebral palsy , medicine , population , epidemiology , psychology , physical therapy , pediatrics , environmental health
In this study parents’systematic accounts of the health status of 408 school‐aged children with cerebral palsy (CP) are reported (221 males, 187 females; mean age 8 years 5 months, SD 1 year 11 months; range 5 to 13 years), as are relations between severity of functional motor impairment and eight functional health status domains. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal study of the motor development of a population‐based, stratified, random sample of children with CP from across Ontario, Canada. The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was used to classify severity of CP and functional health status was described with the eight‐level Health Utilities Index ‐ Mark 3. Rates of functional limitations in Mobility, Dexterity, Speech, and Vision were statistically significantly associated with GMFCS levels (all p <0.01), with correlation values ( tau‐b ) of 0.82,0.58,0.46, and 0.36, respectively. Functional limitations in hearing ( tau‐b =0.16; p =0.04) and cognition ( tau‐b =0.27; p <0.01) were both statistically significantly associated with GMFCS levels, though correlations were low. Neither emotion ( tau‐b =0.03; p =0.24) nor pain ( tau‐b =0.07; p =0.37) was associated with degree of functional limitation as described by the GMFCS. Clinical and epidemiological implications of findings are discussed.