Article

The aim of this study was to assess overall and gestational age-specific
trends in the rate of cerebral palsy (CP) in Victoria, Australia, and to compare
these findings with other population data. METHOD: Individuals born in Victoria
from 1970 to 2004 with non-postneonatally acquired CP were identified from a
population register; 3491 were included in the study (1963 males, 1528 females).
After a literature review, comparison data were extracted from publications using
previously devised inclusion criteria. Rates were calculated per 1000 live births
for all CP and by gestational age group: these were tabulated and plotted by year
of birth. RESULTS: Data from nine registries, including the Victorian register,
showed an increase in the rates of CP over the 1970s and 1980s, consistently seen
in extremely preterm (<28 wks) survivors but also in those born at term (>/=37
wks). Since the early 1990s, CP rates either stabilized or decreased,
particularly for children born extremely preterm. INTERPRETATION: Increases in
the rates of CP during the 1970s and 1980s are in part because of the increasing
survival of extremely preterm infants that occurred without a concomitant
improvement in neurological outcomes. Evidence from population samples now
suggests that this trend has been reversed since the mid- to late 1990s.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2011 Mac Keith
Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS