Cerebral palsy risk in relation to parental age: insights from a matched case-control study

Abstract

Background Cerebral palsy, a prevalent childhood physical disability, exhibits complex multifactorial causes. This case-control study explores the role of parental age in cerebral palsy risk and associated patterns. Methods A case-control study comparing children with cerebral palsy at ages 3 months to 3 years with age-matched healthy control subjects was conducted between January 2022 and August 2023 at Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Cases were recruited from the pediatric physiotherapy outpatient clinic, while controls were selected from pediatric and children emergency wards. Data were collected retrospectively from electronic medical records. Risk factors were evaluated using conditional logistic regression models. Results We studied 134 subjects with cerebral palsy and 134 age-matched control subjects. Significant risk factors for cerebral palsy included the maternal age 35–39 years (odds ratio 2.16, P < 0.005), maternal age ≥ 40 years (odds ratio 3.83, P < 0.005), paternal age 41–45 (odds ratio 2.00, P < 0.05), paternal age ≥ 46 (odds ratio 6.80, P < 0.05), primiparous (odds ratio 2.2, P < 0.05), paternal low income (odds ratio 2.49, P < 0.05), paternal primary education (odds ratio 24.61, P < 0.05), and maternal primary education (odds ratio 2.39, P < 0.05). Conclusions This research contributes to our understanding of parental age as risk factors associated with cerebral palsy in children. The results also underscore the importance of demographic and socioeconomic factors, especially father’s level of income, maternal parity, and parental education. These findings can guide future research and public health interventions aimed at reducing the burden of cerebral palsy.