Takeaway
- This study found no definitive link between cerebral palsy (CP) and dementia.
- However, the risk of dementia may be greater in patients with CP and comorbidities.
Why this matters
- This is the first study to assess the direct risk of dementia in patients with CP.
- Further studies are required to confirm this finding and determine which specific comorbidities may drive the association between CP and dementia.
Study details
- A retrospective study of 1703 adults with CP and 5109 matched control participants from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) database and linked Hospital Episode Statistics (mean age, 33.30 years; 46.8% female).
- Primary outcome: new diagnosis of dementia during the follow-up period.
- Funding: Brunel University London.
Key results
- Overall, 53 (1.04%; median follow-up, 10.95 years) and 19 (1.12%; median follow-up, 7.15 years) people from the control and CP groups, respectively, were diagnosed with dementia.
- People with CP had an increased risk of dementia vs controls (HR, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.44-5.00; P=.002).
- However, this association attenuated after adjusting for CP-related comorbidities (sensory impairment, intellectual disability and epilepsy) (adjusted HR [aHR], 1.92; 95% CI, 0.92-4.02; P=.08) and other complications (aHR, 1.76; 95% CI, 0.73-4.25; P=.21).
Limitations
- Retrospective design.
- Small number of people developing dementia limits generalisability and statistical inferences.
- CP and dementia subtypes were not considered.
This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.