Trends in Cerebral Palsy Infant Mortality from 1981 to 2011 in Spain

Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is due to a defect or lesion of the immature brain and it is the most common form of chronic motor disability in children. In general, the health care system and, especially, perinatal and neonatal care, are considered to influence the prognosis of CP. The aim of this study was to analyze the trend in CP infant mortality in Spain in a 31-years period (1981-2011). Methods: Data on CP deaths of children up to 1 year old were drawn from the National Statistics Institute of Spain, using the International Classification of Diseases. Crude CP infant mortality rates per 100000 live births were calculated, overall and by gender. Joinpoint regression models were used to describe changes in trend and an annual percentage change was calculated for each trend. Results: The CP overall infant mortality rate was 0.94 in 1981 and 0.42 in 2011. By gender, infant mortality rates were 1.41 and 0.00 per 100000 male life births and 0.39 and 0.87 per 100000 female life births, in 1981 and 2011, respectively. The overall and male infant mortality rate showed a statistically significant decrease from 1981 to 2011. In female, the infant mortality rate decreased, although it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: We support the impression that improvements in CP prognosis, in particular the decrease in infant mortality rates observed in this study, are more likely to reflect medical practices than changes affecting all the population.