Trends in Prevalence and Comorbidities of Children With Cerebral Palsy in Norway

Many studies have reported that the prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) has been relatively stable and is mainly due to events before birth and therefore cannot be prevented. However, these studies were undertaken in populations born towards the end of the last century. There has since been significant improvement in both obstetrical and neonatal intensive care. The main aim is to investigate trends in the prevalence and clinical characteristics of children with CP in Norway born from 1996 to 2010 in order to gain a modern understanding of the panorama of CP in Norway. The investigators suspect that improved methods of obstetrical and neonatal care introduced in Norway during the last 20 years has resulted in a decrease in the prevalence of CP as well as in the proportion of children with severe CP subtypes and comorbidities. The long term aim is to improve the quality of pregnancy care and newborn medicine for children at risk of CP, and to ensure equal diagnostics and treatment of patients with CP, regardless of place of residence in Norway. For this project, the investigators will use data from three national health registers: The Cerebral Palsy Registry of Norway (CPRN), The Medical Birth Registry of Norway and The Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR). The use of data from these high quality health registries provides us with a unique opportunity to study our aims on a population level, as well as per health region/health trust.