Data & Statistics for Cerebral Palsy

Prevalence and Characteristics

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability during childhood. ⁽¹⁾
Population-based studies from around the world report prevalence estimates of CP ranging from 1.5 to more than 4 per 1,000 live births or children of a defined age range. ^{(2, 3, 4, 5,6)}
CDC tracks CP through the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) CP Network. ADDM CP Network 2006 data show that: [Read article]

There were 142,338 8-year-old children in the population from Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Wisconsin, representing approximately 4% of the U.S. population of 8-year-olds.
CP prevalence varied by site, ranging from 2.9 per 1,000 8-year-olds in Wisconsin to 3.8 per 1,000 8-year-olds in Georgia. The average prevalence of CP across the four sites was approximately 3.3 per 1,000 or 1 in 303 8-year-old children in the United States.
CP prevalence was significantly lower among Hispanic children than among Black or White children.
The prevalence among White and Black children varied across the sites.
Spastic CP was the most common type of CP, found among approximately 80% of children with CP.
CP, on average, occurred 1.2 times more frequently among boys than among girls.
Three ADDM sites participated in the previous 2002 surveillance year (Alabama, Georgia, and Wisconsin). The average CP prevalence across these three sites in 2002 was 3.6 per 1,000 8-year-olds. This was not meaningfully different than the average prevalence across the three sites in 2006 (3.4 per 1,000). [Read article]

Walking Ability

In 2006, 56% of children with CP were able to walk independently, while 33% had limited or no walking ability. [Read article]
Another study found that 41% of children with CP were limited in their ability to crawl, walk, run, or play, and 31% needed to use special equipment such as walkers or wheelchairs [Read article].

Co-Occurring Developmental Disabilities

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The ADDM site that tracks CP in metropolitan Atlanta is the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program (MADDSP). MADDSP 2006 data show that:
- Approximately 60% of 8-year-old children with CP had another developmental disability.
- More than 40% of children with CP had intellectual disability, 35% had epilepsy, and more than 15% had vision impairment. Nearly one-quarter of children with CP had both intellectual disability and epilepsy.

Cerebral Palsy and the Presence of Co-occurring Developmental Disabilities Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program, 2006

Risk Factors

Low Birthweight and Premature Birth

A study in metropolitan Atlanta found that the prevalence of CP was 6.2 per 1,000 livebirths among children born weighing 1,500 to 2,499 grams (3⅓ to 5½ pounds) and 59.5 per 1,000 livebirths among children born weighing less than 1,500 grams, compared with 1.1 per 1,000 for children born weighing 2,500 grams or more. [Read article].
In data from Europe and Australia, the prevalence of CP ranged from 4.9 to 8.0 per 1,000 livebirths among children born at 32 to 36 weeks gestation and from 35.0 to 79.5 per 1,000 livebirths for children born at 28 to 31 weeks gestation, compared with 1.1 to 1.7 per 1,000 livebirths for children born at 37 or more weeks gestation. In data from Sweden, the prevalence of CP was 6.1 per 1,000 livebirths among children born at 32 to 36 weeks gestation and 43.7 per 1,000 livebirths for children born at 28 to 31 weeks gestation, compared with 1.4 per 1,000 livebirths for children born at 37 or more weeks gestation. [Read article]
A study in Scotland found that children born as part of a multiple birth pregnancy such as being a twin were found to be almost five times more likely to have CP than children born as singletons. Part, but not all, of this increased risk is due to the fact that multiple birth children are more likely to be born prematurely or at low birthweight. [Read summary]

A study in Denmark found that children born after in vitro fertilization (assisted conception) were 1.6 times as likely to have CP, due to the fact that they were more likely to be born prematurely or from a multiple pregnancy. [Read article]

Disruption of Blood and Oxygen Supply to the Developing Brain

Ischemic stroke, when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain, is recognized to cause brain damage that can result in CP. It can occur in the developing fetal brain during pregnancy or shortly after birth. [Read summary]
Disruption of the oxygen supply during birth (birth hypoxia) has been estimated to account for less than 10% of CP cases. [Read summary]

Infection Among Mothers

Infection of the placental membranes (chorioamnionitis) or other signs of infection (blood infection in the mother or fever during labor) have been associated with an increased risk of CP for children born full-term. [Read article], [Read summary]
Chorioamnionitis has been found to account for 12% of spastic CP among children born full-term and 28% of CP among children born prematurely. [Read article]
Maternal genitourinary infection has been associated with an increased risk of CP among children born prematurely or at low birthweight. [Read article]

Other Factors

Congenital abnormalities of the central nervous system (brain) were found to be more common among children with CP than among those without CP. [Read summary]
Data from metropolitan Atlanta showed that about 10% to 15% of CP was acquired in the early years of a child’s life. The most frequent causes were brain injuries from motor vehicle crashes or falls, and infections (such as meningitis). [Read article], [Read summar]

Economic Costs

[Read article]

CDC has estimated that the lifetime cost to care for an individual with CP is nearly $1 million (2003 dollars).
It also has been estimated that the combined lifetime costs for all people with CP who were born in 2000 will total $11.5 billion in direct and indirect costs.

References

1. Capute and Accardo’s Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Infancy and Childhood, Third Edition. Edited by Pasquale J. Accardo, MD. 2008, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co, Baltimore, MD. p17.
2. Arneson CL, Durkin MS, Benedict RE, Kirby RS, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Van Naarden Braun K, Doernberg NS.(2009). Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy: Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, Three Sites, United States, 2004. Disability and Health Journal, 2(1), 45–48.
3. Bhasin TK, Brocksen S, Avchen RN, Van Naarden Braun K.(2006). Prevalence of four developmental disabilities among children aged 8 years – Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program, 1996 and 2000. MMWR. Surveillance Summaries, 55(1), 1–9.
4. Paneth N, Hong T, Korzeniewski S. (2006). The descriptive epidemiology of cerebral palsy. Clinics in Perinatology, 33(2), 251–267.
5. Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe. (2002).Prevalence and characteristics of children with cerebral palsy in Europe. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 44(9), 633–640.
6. Winter S, Autry A, Boyle C, Yeargin-Allsopp M.(2002). Trends in the prevalence of cerebral palsy in a population-based study. Pediatrics, 110(6), 1220–1225.
CDC - Cerebral Palsy, Data and Statistics - NCBDDD