Motor impairment and skeletal mineralization in children with cerebral palsy

Objective: to evaluate the bone mineral density and the effect of motor impairment on bone mineral density in children with cerebral palsy. methods: the cross-sectional study was conducted at the armed forces institute of rehabilitation medicine,rawalpindi,pakistan,from january 2013 to january 2015. children diagnosed with cerebral palsy were sampled by non-probability purposive sampling from the cerebral palsy clinic. on the basis of gross motor function classification level of motor impairment,the children were divided into mild cerebral palsy (level 1 & 2) and moderate to severe cerebral palsy (level 3-5) groups. bone mineral density z-score was measured at lumbar spine with dual energy x-ray absorptiometry at l1-l4 lumbar vertebra. data was analysed using spss 20. results: of the total 108 children selected,18(16.6%) had to be excluded due to poor nutrition status or deranged serum chemistry,while in 4(3.7%) children dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan was not done on technical grounds. of the remaining 86(79.6%) children,39(45.3%) were males and 47(54.7%) were females. the overall mean age was 6.08±2.89 years and mean bone mineral density z-score was -2.16±0.62. statistically significant difference was found in bone mineral density z-scores of moderate to severe compared to mild cerebral palsy group (p<0.05). significant difference in bone mineral density z-scores was also found among different levels of gross motor function classification system of motor impairment (p<0.05). conclusion: cerebral palsy children had low bone mineral density z-score,especially those who were nonambulatory. © 2017,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.