Risk Factors for Cerebral Palsy, 1/1994

Risk Factors for Cerebral Palsy, 1/1994

What are the risk factors associated with an infant being born with cerebral palsy?

A risk factor is not a cause; it is a variable which, when present, increases the chance of something occurring -- in this case, cerebral palsy. Just because a risk factor is present does not mean cerebral palsy WILL occur; nor does the absence of a risk factor mean that cerebral palsy will NOT occur. If a risk factor is present, it serves to alert the parents and physicians to be even more observant to the infant's development.

In recently published study in the Journal of Pediatrics, a group of investigators found the following factors are associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy:

The Parents	The Child
Mother 40 yrs. or older	A first child or child born fifth or more
Mother under 20 yrs.	One of a twin (particularly if one twin died)
Father under 20 yrs.	Low birth weight (less than 2.5 lbs.)
African American	Premature (less than 37 weeks)

The following individual factors were not associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy:

Hispanic Asian Gender of the child (except for very low birth weight boys) Prenatal care Type of medical care facility

It needs to be recognized that more than one risk factor can be present at the same time (e.g.: low birth weight and being a twin), the combination of which can further increase the probability of cerebral palsy occurring.

AT AGE 3, 1.3 CHILDREN PER 1,000 CHILDREN

The Parents	The Child	Not A Factor
Mother 40 yrs. or older	First child	Hispanic
Mother under 20 yrs.	One of a twin	Asian
5 or more children	Low birth weight (<1500 gm)	Gender
Father under 20 yrs.	Premature (37 weeks or less)	Prenatal Care
African American	Boys less than 1000 gm	Medical Facility

Cummins, S.K. et al. - Journal of Pediatrics 123/2; 230-237

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Risk Factors for Cerebral Palsy, 1/1994