Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Canadian Children: Prevalence Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth

Asuri Narayan Prasad; Bradley Corbett

doi:10.1055/s-0039-3400974

Journal of Pediatric Neurology, Table of Contents

Journal of Pediatric Neurology 2021; 19(03): 153-160
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-3400974

Original Article

Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Canadian Children: Prevalence Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth

Asuri Narayan Prasad

¹Epilepsy Program, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, London Health Sciences Centre and Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

,

Bradley Corbett

²Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Aim Using population surveys of chronic health conditions, the present study aimed to examine changing trends in the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) with age and determine population-based estimates of prevalence and census-based estimates of absolute numbers of affected children.

Methods We analyzed data from three cycles (1994–1999) of Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) (Statistics Canada Survey).

Results Cross-sectional prevalence rates for chronic NDD in children from birth to 15 years across cycle 1 to 3 of the NLSCY show an increasing trend over the years from 1994 to 1999. Population-based estimates were also calculated from census data. Weighted prevalence rates for four conditions in children aged birth to 15 years increased across the three cycles, except for cerebral palsy. Prevalence estimates in cycle 3 were: epilepsy 5.26/1,000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.01, 5.52), cerebral palsy 2.81/1,000 (95% CI: 2.62, 2.99), intellectual disability 4.77/1,000 (95% CI: 4.53, 5.02), and learning disability 57.06/1,000 (95% CI, 56.36, 57.76). A male gender preponderance was noted for each NDD using logistic regression.

Interpretation Prevalence rates of NDD in Canadian children show an incremental trend across three cycles in four conditions covered in the survey. The changing trends over the three cycles are discussed.

Keywords

neurodevelopmental disabilities - children - population - prevalence

Full Text

References

References
1 Morris C, Janssens A, Tomlinson R, Williams J, Logan S. Towards a definition of neurodisability: a Delphi survey. Dev Med Child Neurol 2013; 55 (12) 1103-1108
2 Statistics Canada (1995). NLSCY Overview of Survey Instruments for 1994–1995 Data Collection Cycle 1. Catalogue No. 89FOO78XIE. Statistics Canada (Producer), Ottawa, ON;112
3 Statistics Canada (1995). NLSCY Overview of Survey Instruments for 1996–1997 Data Collection Cycle 2. Catalogue No. 89FOO78XIE. Statistics Canada (Producer), Ottawa, ON; 67
4 Prasad AN, Sang X, Corbett BA, Burneo JG. Prevalence of childhood epilepsy in Canada. Can J Neurol Sci 2011; 38 (05) 719-722
5 Prasad C, Corbett BA, Prasad AN. Epilepsy, school readiness in Canadian children: data from the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Seizure 2014; 23 (06) 435-438
6 Prasad AN, Burneo JG, Corbett B. Epilepsy, comorbid conditions in Canadian children: analysis of cross-sectional data from cycle 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth. Seizure 2014; 23 (10) 869-873
7 Prasad AN, Corbett B. Epilepsy and its Impact on psychosocial outcomes in Canadian children: data from the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Epilepsy Res 2016; 128: 119-125
8 Miller AR, Mâsse LC, Shen J, Schiariti V, Roxborough L. Diagnostic status, functional status and complexity among Canadian children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities: a population-based study. Disabil Rehabil 2013; 35 (06) 468-478
9 Boyle CA, Boulet S, Schieve LA. et al. Trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in US children, 1997-2008. Pediatrics 2011; 127 (06) 1034-1042
10 Salaheen Z, Corbett B, Prasad AN. Gender disparity, income adequacy, and geographic location among neurodevelopmental disabilities in Canadian children: data from the national longitudinal study of children and youth. CLAE Book Abstracts 2018; 38: 1-42
11 Aaberg KM, Gunnes N, Bakken IJ. et al. Incidence and prevalence of childhood epilepsy: a nationwide cohort study. Pediatrics 2017; 139 (05) 139
12 Cowan LD, Bodensteiner JB, Leviton A, Doherty L. Prevalence of the epilepsies in children and adolescents. Epilepsia 1989; 30 (01) 94-106
13 Murphy CC, Trevathan E, Yeargin-Allsopp M. Prevalence of epilepsy and epileptic seizures in 10-year-old children: results from the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study. Epilepsia 1995; 36 (09) 866-872
14 Wichers MJ, Odding E, Stam HJ, van Nieuwenhuizen O. Clinical presentation, associated disorders and aetiological moments in cerebral palsy: a Dutch population-based study. Disabil Rehabil 2005; 27 (10) 583-589
15 Fiest KM, Sauro KM, Wiebe S. et al. Prevalence and incidence of epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of international studies. Neurology 2017; 88 (03) 296-303
16 Van Naarden Braun K, Christensen D, Doernberg N. et al. Trends in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, intellectual disability, and vision impairment, metropolitan Atlanta, 1991-2010. PLoS One 2015; 10 (04) e0124120
17 Robertson CMT, Ricci MF, O'Grady K. et al. Prevalence estimate of cerebral palsy in Northern Alberta: births, 2008-2010. Can J Neurol Sci 2017; 44 (04) 366-374
18 Beghi E, Hesdorffer D. Prevalence of epilepsy--an unknown quantity. Epilepsia 2014; 55 (07) 963-967
19 Sillanpää M. Epilepsy in children: prevalence, disability, and handicap. Epilepsia 1992; 33 (03) 444-449
20 Oskoui M, Coutinho F, Dykeman J, Jetté N, Pringsheim T. An update on the prevalence of cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Dev Med Child Neurol 2013; 55 (06) 509-519
21 Serdaroğlu A, Cansu A, Ozkan S, Tezcan S. Prevalence of cerebral palsy in Turkish children between the ages of 2 and 16 years. Dev Med Child Neurol 2006; 48 (06) 413-416
22 Van Naarden Braun K, Autry A, Boyle C. A population-based study of the recurrence of developmental disabilities--Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program, 1991-94. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2005; 19 (01) 69-79
23 Bizier C, Fawcett G, Gilbert S. C. M. Developmental Disabilities among Canadians aged 15 years and older. Canadian Survey on Disability, 2012: Catologue No. 89-654-X2015003. 2015, Statistics Canada (Producer), Ottawa, ON:13
24 Learning disabilities Association of Canada. Putting a Canadian Face on Learning Disabilities (PACFOLD). Online document. Available at: http://www.pacfold.ca/download/NationalProfiles/en/6-15.pdf
25 Boyle CA, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Doernberg NS, Holmgreen P, Murphy CC, Schendel DE. Prevalence of selected developmental disabilities in children 3-10 years of age: the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program, 1991. MMWR CDC Surveill Summ 1996; 45 (02) 1-14
26 Bradley EA, Thompson A, Bryson SE. Mental retardation in teenagers: prevalence data from the Niagara region, Ontario. Can J Psychiatry 2002; 47 (07) 652-659
27 Roeleveld N, Zielhuis GA, Gabreëls F. The prevalence of mental retardation: a critical review of recent literature. Dev Med Child Neurol 1997; 39 (02) 125-132
28 Bielska IA, Ouellette-Kuntz H, Hunter D. Using national surveys for mental health surveillance of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Canada. Chronic Dis Inj Can 2012; 32 (04) 194-199
29 Tropeano M, Ahn JW, Dobson RJ. et al. Male-biased autosomal effect of 16p13.11 copy number variation in neurodevelopmental disorders. PLoS One 2013; 8 (04) e61365
30 Jessen HM, Auger AP. Sex differences in epigenetic mechanisms may underlie risk and resilience for mental health disorders. Epigenetics 2011; 6 (07) 857-861
31 Jacquemont S, Coe BP, Hersch M. et al. A higher mutational burden in females supports a “female protective model” in neurodevelopmental disorders. Am J Hum Genet 2014; 94 (03) 415-425
32 Arim RG, Miller AR, Guèvremont A, Lach LM, Brehaut JC, Kohen DE. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities: a population-based study of healthcare service utilization using administrative data. Dev Med Child Neurol 2017; 59 (12) 1284-1290
33 Mâsse LC, Miller AR, Shen J, Schiariti V, Roxborough L. Patterns of participation across a range of activities among Canadian children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities. Dev Med Child Neurol 2013; 55 (08) 729-736
34 World report on disability. Lancet 2011; 377 (9782): 1977