Estimating the prevalence of cerebral palsy in a semi-urban city in Benin: a door-to-door community-based study.

INTRODUCTION Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of pediatric motor disability. While epidemiological data are widespread in high-income countries, corresponding data in low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are still rare. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CP in Northern Benin, a French-speaking low-income country in Sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS This study was a community-based door-to-door study involving children younger than 18 years old, in Parakou, a semi-urban city in Benin. We used a two-stage procedure. The first one consisted on children screening to identify potential cases of CP. During the second stage, suspected children were examined by neurologists with high experience with CP. RESULTS In total, 2630 children were screened with 10 confirmed cases of CP, resulting in a crude prevalence (95% confidence interval) of 3.8(1.4, 6.15) per 1000 children. Of the ten confirmed cases, six were younger than 5 years old, and five were male. Eight children over ten were spastic with six bilateral spastic subtype according to the SCPE classification system. Seven children had a Gross Motor Function Classification System level III-V, and six were classified level III to V of the Manual Ability Classification System. CONCLUSION Cerebral palsy is highly prevalent in Semi-Urban area in Northern Benin. Large studies on potential risk factors are needed for the development of effective preventive strategies.