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

ABSTRACT

PIP: 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.