Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most prevalent, severe and costly motor disability of childhood. Consequently, CP is a public health priority for prevention, but its aetiology has proved complex. In this Review, we summarize the evidence for a decline in the birth prevalence of CP in some high-income nations, describe the epidemiological evidence for risk factors, such as preterm delivery and fetal growth restriction, genetics, pregnancy infection and other exposures, and discuss the success achieved so far in prevention through the use of magnesium sulfate in preterm labour and therapeutic hypothermia for birth-asphyxiated infants. We also consider the complexities of disentangling prenatal and perinatal influences, and of establishing subtypes of the disorder, with a view to accelerating the translation of evidence into the development of strategies for the prevention of CP.

Cerebral palsy (CP), the most common major disabling motor disorder of childhood, is frequently thought of as a condition that affects only children. Deaths in children with CP, never common, have in recent years become very rare, unless the child is very severely and multiply disabled. Thus, virtually all children assigned the diagnosis of CP will survive into adulthood. Attention to the adult with CP has been sparse, and the evolution of the motor disorder as the individual moves through adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and old age is not well understood. Nor do we know what happens to other functional domains, such as communication and eating behavior, in adults with CP. Although the brain injury that initially causes CP by definition does not progressively worsen through the lifetime, the effects of CP manifest differently throughout the life span. The aging process must inevitably interact with the motor disorder, but we lack systematic, large-scale follow-up studies of children with CP into adulthood and through adulthood with thorough assessments performed over time. In this paper we summarize what is known of the epidemiology of CP throughout the life span, beginning with mortality and life expectancy, then survey what is known of functioning, ability, and quality of life of adults with CP. We conclude by describing a framework for future research on CP and aging that is built around the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and suggest specific tools and approaches for conducting that research in a sound manner.

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