[Epidemiology of cerebral palsy in children]. / Epidemiologia delle paralisi cerebrali infantili.

ABSTRACT

Cerebral palsy is not a simple clinical or even aetiological entity, nevertheless is a chronic disability characterized by aberrant control of movement or posture appearing early in life. As for as incidence and prevalence studies are concerned, comparison of studies of age--specific prevalence rates is made difficult by differences in definition, methods and parameters used for medical evaluation. The epidemiology of CP is very important in the defining the entity of the problem, the need for facilities and services. The need for a current and perhaps continuing national statistical survey of the incidence and prevalence of CP is stressed.