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Mortality of urban and rural young children with cerebral palsy in Bangladesh.

, , , , and . Dev Med Child Neurol, 40 (11): 749--753 (November 1998)

Abstract

Bangladesh has a high child mortality rate. However, little is known about the outcome for young children who have cerebral palsy (CP). Ninety-two children with CP with a mean age of 3 years 3 months at entry into the study were followed for up to 3 years as part of an intervention study. Eight children died: two of 49 (4\%) from an urban area and six of 43 (14\%) from a rural area. Extrinsic factors such as infections and drug reactions preceded all the deaths, but those who died were mostly severely malnourished and among the more severely disabled of the total group. Eighty-nine percent of rural children in the study were from low-income families. Intervention programmes for severely disabled children in developing countries must include primary health care and feeding programmes as well as rehabilitation services to address both the needs of the child and empowerment of the mother and the family.Most children with disabilities live in developing countries. A large epidemiological study of children with disabilities aged 2-9 years in Bangladesh indicated a prevalence rate of 6.8\% for all grades and types of disabilities, and of 1.5\% for serious disabilities. This paper presents findings from the assessment of the death rate of 92 children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 16-67 months, of mean age 39 months, at entry into the study who were followed for up to 3 years as part of an intervention study. 8 children died: 2 of 49 (4\%) from an urban area and 6 of 43 (14\%) from a rural area. Factors such as infections and drug reactions preceded all of the deaths, but the children who died were mostly severely malnourished and among the more severely disabled of the overall group. 89\% of rural children in the study were from low-income families. Intervention programs for severely disabled children in developing countries must include primary health care and feeding programs as well as rehabilitation services.

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