Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35261024›Full record

Observational studyDevelopmental medicine and child neurology2022

Declining trends in birth prevalence and severity of singletons with cerebral palsy of prenatal or perinatal origin in Australia: A population-based observational study.

Hayley Smithers-Sheedy, Emma Waight, Shona Goldsmith, Sue Reid, Catherine Gibson, Linda Watson, Megan Auld, Nadia Badawi, Annabel Webb, Leanne Diviney and 2 more

Open access · greenAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Developmental medicine and child neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Childhood muscle growth: Reference curves for lower leg muscle volumes and their clinical application in cerebral palsy.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Genetic investigations in cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurology · 2025
    Review
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  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Hayley Smithers-SheedyCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0082-2413
Emma WaightCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8027-6183
Shona GoldsmithCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3903-6142
Sue ReidMurdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9415-5246
Catherine GibsonWomen's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Linda WatsonDepartment of Health Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Megan AuldCPL - Choice, Passion, Life, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Nadia BadawiCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Annabel WebbCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Leanne DivineyCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Sarah McintyreCerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0234-1541
Australian Cerebral Palsy Register Group
The University of Sydney · AUGovernment of Western Australia Department of Health · AURoyal Children's Hospital · AUWomen's and Children's Health Network · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo investigate temporal trends in birth prevalence, disability severity, and motor type for singletons with prenatal or perinatally acquired cerebral palsy (CP).

methodNumerator data, number of children with CP born a singleton between 1995 and 2014, confirmed at 5 years of age, were drawn from three state registers with population-level ascertainment. Birth prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated per 1000 singleton live births for the three states combined, overall, by gestational age group, by dichotomized disability severity, and spastic laterality. Poisson regression models were used to analyse trends. Using data from all eight registers, trends in the proportional distribution of CP subtypes overall and stratified by gestational age were examined.

resultsBirth prevalence of CP declined from 1.8 (95% CI 1.6-2.0) in 1995 to 1996 to 1.2 (95% CI 1.1-1.4) in 2013 to 2014 (average 5% per 2-year epoch, p < 0.001). Declines in birth prevalence were observed across all gestational age groups with the largest decline in children born at <28 weeks (average 8% per epoch, p < 0.001). Prevalence of moderate-severe disability declined for children born at <28 and ≥37 weeks (average 11% and 7% per epoch respectively, p < 0.001). The proportions of bilateral spastic CP declined (p < 0.001) at <28 weeks (p = 0.014) and ≥37 weeks (p < 0.001). The proportion of children with dyskinesia increased (28-31 weeks: p = 0.021, 32-36 weeks: p = 0.001, and ≥37 weeks: p < 0.001).

interpretationBirth prevalence of CP and moderate-severe disability (<28 and ≥37 weeks) declined in Australian singletons between 1995 and 2014, reflecting changes in prenatal and perinatal care over time. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Declines in birth prevalence of prenatal or perinatally acquired cerebral palsy were observed for singletons born in Australia between 1995 and 2014. These declines were evident across all gestational age groups. Declines in birth prevalence of moderate-severe disability were observed for children born at <28 weeks and ≥37 weeks.

Indexed as

Cerebral PalsyAustraliaChildFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfantMuscle SpasticityPregnancyPrevalence

Identifiers

PMID35261024
PMCPMC9544021
OpenAlexW4221018853

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.