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Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is part of a five-state research group that recently released significant findings on the prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) among children in the United States. CP is the most common cause of lifelong motor disability in children that results from abnormal development or injury to the developing brain before, during or shortly after birth.
The study, published in the American Academy of Pediatrics publication Pediatrics: Open Science, offers a comprehensive look at the condition and emphasizes encouraging progress in early identification.
Conducted through the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, a program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study examined the health care and education records of more than 214,000 children across five U.S. communities in Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee and Utah. Researchers found similar CP prevalence rates across age groups, affecting approximately 2.4 children per 1,000 8-year-olds and 2.2 children per 1,000 4-year-olds in 2022.
The research was made possible through federal funding championed in Congress by Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis.
“The findings from monitoring cerebral palsy incidence will be helpful to better understand the medical needs of our citizens,” Cohen said. “With a high linkage between preterm births and cerebral palsy, improving prenatal care could reduce the number of people born with cerebral palsy and significantly reduce lifelong medical costs, including therapies, surgeries and mobility devices.
“I look forward to further analysis of the data collected for cerebral palsy through the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.”
Among the study’s most notable findings was that children born in 2018 were diagnosed with CP earlier than children born in 2014. Researchers reported a 20% higher cumulative incidence of diagnosis by age 48 months among the younger group, which suggests improvements in screening practices and early detection efforts.
“It is very encouraging that the data shows children being diagnosed with CP at earlier ages over time,” said Amy Weitlauf, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a licensed clinical psychologist. Weitlauf is co-principal investigator of the ADDM CP study at Vanderbilt Health. “This supports the importance of early identification and intervention as part of ongoing developmental monitoring, especially for children at increased risk of CP diagnoses over time.”
The study also pointed out population differences. Black children in the 8-year-old group experienced a significantly higher prevalence of CP than white children, with rates of 3.3 per 1,000 compared with 2.2 per 1,000. Researchers additionally found that Black children with CP were less likely to walk independently than their white peers.
“Getting a CP diagnosis can be a complicated process,” said Zachary Warren, PhD, the Donna and Jeffrey Eskind Family Professor of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Professor of Pediatrics, and Vanderbilt Health site principal investigator of the CDC ADDM Network. “Understanding that CP is documented at different rates across different groups gives us new targets for education and outreach about risk, not only for providers but also for early interventionists, educators and most importantly, families.”
The most common form of cerebral palsy identified was spastic CP, which accounted for more than 72% of cases. Overall, nearly 58% of children with cerebral palsy were able to walk independently.
“We are excited to continue to be a part of the ADDM Network, especially given the opportunity that it presents to understand how CP affects Tennesseans,” said Weitlauf. “We continue to engage in active data collection and eagerly anticipate future work that may allow us to examine more closely how factors like birth characteristics, service access and early intervention affect prevalence and outcomes.”
