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Cited by 73Cerebral Palsy and Movement DisordersDisability Rights and RepresentationDown syndrome and intellectual disability research

Cerebral palsy and developmental intellectual disability in children younger than 5 years: Findings from the GBD-WHO Rehabilitation Database 2019

Open access
Olusanya, Bolajoko O., Gladstone, Melissa, Wright, Scott M., Hadders-Algra, Mijna, Boo, Nem-Yun, Nair, M. K. C., Almasri, Nihad, Kancherla, Vijaya +15 more·2022·Frontiers in Public Health
DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2022.894546PMC PMC9452822
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Abstract

Objective: Children with developmental disabilities are associated with a high risk of poor school enrollment and educational attainment without timely and appropriate support. Epidemiological data on cerebral palsy and associated comorbidities required for policy intervention in global health are lacking. This paper set out to report the best available evidence on the global and regional prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) and developmental intellectual disability and the associated “years lived with disability” (YLDs) among children under 5 years of age in 2019. Methods: We analyzed the collaborative 2019 Rehabilitation Database of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study and World Health Organization for neurological and mental disorders available for 204 countries and territories. Point prevalence and YLDs with 95% uncertainty intervals (UI) are presented. Results: Globally, 8.1 million (7.1–9.2) or 1.2% of children under 5 years are estimated to have CP with 16.1 million (11.5–21.0) or 2.4% having intellectual disability. Over 98% resided in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). CP and intellectual disability accounted for 6.5% and 4.5% of the aggregate YLDs from all causes of adverse health outcomes respectively. African Region recorded the highest prevalence of CP (1.6%) while South-East Asia Region had the highest prevalence of intellectual disability. The top 10 countries accounted for 57.2% of the global prevalence of CP and 62.0% of the global prevalence of intellectual disability. Conclusion: Based on this Database, CP and intellectual disability are highly prevalent and associated with substantial YLDs among children under 5 years worldwide. Universal early detection and support services are warranted, particularly in LMICs to optimize school readiness for these children toward inclusive education as envisioned by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

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  • Global estimates of CP and ID often stem from high-income countries.

    “Olusanya et al. [28] highlighted that global estimates of CP and ID often stem from high-income countries”

    From The Mental Health of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Review of the Last Five Years of Research (2025) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Discussion says that published global CP estimates are “almost entirely derived from studies conducted in high-income countries.” It does not make the same claim about intellectual-disability estimates, so the citation supports the CP part but not the extension to ID. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Variations in CP type and associated brain injuries across different regions may influence ID prevalence rates.

    “suggesting that variations in CP type and associated brain injuries across different regions may influence ID prevalence rates.”

    From The Mental Health of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Review of the Last Five Years of Research (2025) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Results (page not provided) report regional differences in intellectual-disability prevalence, and the Discussion describes differing contributors to CP across regions. The paper also notes that intellectual disability commonly co-occurs with CP, but it does not say that regional variation in CP type or associated brain injuries influences intellectual-disability prevalence. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • CP and ID prevalence rates are typically derived from high-income countries, potentially overlooking higher prevalence rates in low- and middle-income regions.

    “Olusanya et al. [28] emphasized that CP and ID prevalence rates are typically derived from high-income countries, potentially overlooking higher prevalence rates in low- and middle-income regions.”

    From The Mental Health of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Review of the Last Five Years of Research (2025) · cites this paper as [28]

    The Discussion says published global CP prevalence estimates are derived almost entirely from high-income-country studies and notes a dearth of studies in LMICs. It also reports higher estimates for both CP and intellectual disability in LMICs than in high-income countries. It does not establish that published intellectual-disability prevalence estimates are likewise typically derived from high-income countries. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Research conclusions over the past five years suggest a high prevalence of ID in patients diagnosed with CP.

    “the research conclusions over the past five years suggest a high prevalence of ID in patients diagnosed with CP [13,16,17,18,19,20,21,27,28]”

    From The Mental Health of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Review of the Last Five Years of Research (2025) · cites this paper as [28]

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1 of the 34 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [4]National Research Council Institute Institute of Medicine. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press (2000). 25077268
  2. [35]National National Academies of Sciences Engineering Medicine. Mental Disorders and Disabilities Among Low-Income Children. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press (2015). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK332882/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK332882.pdf (accessed June 10, 2022). 26632628

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Authors
Olusanya, B. O., Gladstone, M., Wright, S. M., Hadders-Algra, M., Boo, N.-Y., Nair, M. K. C., Almasri, N., Kancherla, V., Samms-Vaughan, M. E., Kakooza-Mwesige, A., Smythe, T., del Castillo-Hegyi, C., Halpern, R., de Camargo, O. K., Arabloo, J., Eftekhari, A., Shaheen, A., Gulati, S., Williams, A. N., Olusanya, J. O., Wertlieb, D., Newton, C. R. J., & Davis, A. C.
Affiliations
  • Centre for Healthy Start Initiative (NG)
  • University of Liverpool (GB)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Sungai Long Campus (MY)
  • University of Jordan (JO)
  • Emory University (US)
  • London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
  • Iran University of Medical Sciences (IR)
  • Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (IR)
  • An-Najah National University (PS)
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences (IN)
  • Northampton General Hospital (GB)
  • Tufts University (US)
  • Kenya Medical Research Institute (KE)
  • Anglia Ruskin University (GB)
Corresponding author
Olusanya, Bolajoko O.
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Public Health
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2022-08-25
Volume
10
Pages
894546-894546
ISSN
2296-2565 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpubh.2022.894546
PMC
PMC9452822
OpenAlex
W4293224592
Cited by
64
References
34
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2
FWCI
5.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
  • LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Greater South Information System
Funders
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Disability Rights and Representation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Down syndrome and intellectual disability research
Keywords
cerebral palsy, children under five, years lived with disability, prevalence, global burden of disease, low- and middle-income countries, school readiness, inclusive education
MeSH terms
Global Burden of Disease, Cerebral Palsy, Child, Child, Preschool, Persons with Disabilities, Humans, Intellectual Disability, World Health Organization

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