IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pgph00/0003003.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Magnitude and clinical characteristics of cerebral palsy among children in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Biruk Beletew Abate
  • Kindie Mekuria Tegegne
  • Alemu Birara Zemariam
  • Addis Wondmagegn Alamaw
  • Mulat Awoke Kassa
  • Tegene Atamenta Kitaw
  • Gebremeskel Kibret Abebe
  • Molla Azmeraw Bizuayehu

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability in childhood which causes a child’s behavioral, feeding, and sleep difficulties. It remains a poorly studied health problem in Africa. The main aim of this study was assessing the pooled prevalence of Cerebral Palsy (CP) and its clinical characteristics in Africa context. Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to search articles from electronic databases (Cochrane library, Ovid platform) (Medline, Embase, and Emcare), Google Scholar, CINAHL, PubMed, Maternity and Infant Care Database (MIDIRS). The last search date was on 12/05/ 2023 G. C. A weighted inverse variance random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled estimates of cerebral palsy and its types. The subgroup analysis, publication bias and sensitivity analysis were done. Studies on prevalence and clinical characteristics of cerebral palsy were included. The primary and secondary outcomes were prevalence and clinical characteristics of cerebral palsy respectively. A total of 15 articles with (n = 498406 patients) were included for the final analysis. The pooled prevalence of cerebral palsy in Africa was found to be 3·34 (2·70, 3·98). The most common type is spastic cerebral palsy accounting 69·30% (66·76, 71·83) of all cases. The second one is quadriplegic cerebral palsy which was found to be 41·49% (33·16, 49·81). Ataxic cerebral palsy accounted 5·36% (3·22, 7·50). On the other hand, dyskinetic cerebral palsy was found to be 10.88% (6·26, 15·49). About 32·10% (19·25, 44.95) of cases were bilateral while 25·17% (16·84, 33·50) were unilateral. The incidence of cerebral palsy in Africa surpasses the reported rates in developed nations. Spastic and quadriplegic subtypes emerge as the most frequently observed. It is recommended to channel initiatives toward the strategic focus on preventive measures, early detection strategies, and comprehensive management protocols.

Suggested Citation

  • Biruk Beletew Abate & Kindie Mekuria Tegegne & Alemu Birara Zemariam & Addis Wondmagegn Alamaw & Mulat Awoke Kassa & Tegene Atamenta Kitaw & Gebremeskel Kibret Abebe & Molla Azmeraw Bizuayehu, 2024. "Magnitude and clinical characteristics of cerebral palsy among children in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(6), pages 1-23, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pgph00:0003003
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0003003
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0003003&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pgph00:0003003. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: globalpubhealth (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.