Public health indicators for cerebral palsy in Belgium: A national population-based study. Abstracts of the 36th Annual Meeting of the EACD.

Public health indicators for cerebral palsy in Belgium: A national population-based study
E. Dhondt1, F. Plasschaert2,3, B. Dan4,5, M. Degelaen4,6, C. Dielman7, D. Dispa8, I. Ebetiuc9, S. Kenis10, C. Lombardo11, N. Smeets12, V. Wermenbol13, E. Ortibus1,14
1Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 2Cerebral Palsy Reference Centre, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium; 3Human Structure and Repair, Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; 4Inter-University Reference Centre for Cerebral Palsy (CIRICU), Inkendaal Rehabilitation Hospital, Vlezenbeek, Belgium; 5Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; 6Department of Rehabilitation Research, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; 7Cerebral Palsy Reference Centre Antwerp (CePRA), Ziekenhuis Netwerk Antwerpen Queen Paola Children's Hospital, Wilrijk, Belgium; 8Reference Centre for Cerebral Palsy (IMOC), Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium; 9Inter-University Reference Centre for Cerebral Palsy (CIRICU), Hospital De La Citadelle, Liege, Belgium; 10Cerebral Palsy Reference Centre Antwerp (CePRA), Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium; 11Inter-University Reference Centre for Cerebral Palsy (CIRICU), Queen Fabiola Children's University Hospital (QFCUH), Brussels, Belgium; 12Inter-University Reference Centre for Cerebral Palsy (CIRICU), University Hospital Brussels, Brussels, Belgium; 13Inter-University Reference Centre for Cerebral Palsy (CIRICU), Erasmus Hospital, Brussels, Belgium; 14Cerebral Palsy Reference Centre, University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Introduction: The Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe (SCPE) network developed six public health indicators (PHIs) for cerebral palsy (CP) to document the extent of CP and effectiveness of perinatal organisation, the burden of this condition, access to health services, and preventive health strategies in the post-neonatal period. We aimed to report on PHIs for CP in Belgium using population-based data routinely collected by the Belgian Cerebral Palsy Registry (BeCPR).

Participants and Methods: Population-based data of children with CP born in Belgium between 2007 and 2014 were extracted from the BeCPR database. In particular, number of cases, gestational age, CP subtype, gross motor function, severe associated impairments, and brain neuroimaging were collected to generate PHIs.

Results: Analyses were performed on 1378 children with CP. The prevalence of pre/perinatal CP overall was 1.25 per 1000 live births; 7.42 per 1000 live births in preterm children; and 0.77 per 1000 live births in full-term-born children. The burden of the condition was highly associated with CP subtype and presence of associated impairments. At least one brain neuroimaging test was performed in 97. 9% of children with CP. The prevalence of post-neonatally acquired CP was 1.10 per 10000 live births.

Conclusions: The PHIs for CP in Belgium align with those of other European CP registries. In addition to nationwide epidemiological data, the BeCPR can provide data that are relevant to gain information on the impact of CP at the population level, thus potentially contributing to evidence-based decision-making to improve the lives of people with CP.