Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy is the most commonly diagnosed condition in children presenting with disability. This could be attributed to the lack of awareness on the quantifiable and largely preventable risk factors associated with it and poor knowledge of simple public health measures against these factors.
Objective: To evaluate the risk factors associated with cerebral palsy in Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra state, Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: This is a case–control study carried out with 40 case study population of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy and 80 control group of children who do not have cerebral palsy. The study was carried out using a pro forma to access and collect relevant data from the records (folders) of these individuals. Result: There is a statistically significant relationship between cerebral palsy and the following risk factors—birth 2 2 asphyxia (c   = 18.98; P < 0.01; OR = 7.71), neonatal jaundice (c  = 5.958; P <0.05; OR = 3.33), and postnatal infection 2 (c  = 5.86; P <0.05; OR = 3.02). However, the relationship between cerebral palsy and intrauterine infection was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Birth asphyxia is the strongest risk factor associated with cerebral palsy, followed by neonatal jaundice and postnatal infection, and then intrauterine infection. Adequate prevention targeting these factors will hopefully reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy among children in Nigeria.