Queen's University Belfast

Academic Institute

Kelly-Ann Eastwood

E032

Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a range of conditions affecting a child’s ability to move or control their movement due to problems with development or injury to their brain. CP is the leading cause of physical disability in children, it affects approximately 1:500 children worldwide and there are approximately 60 children diagnosed with CP each year in Northern Ireland. Over the last 50 years, obstetric care before and during birth has improved however CP rates remain unchanged. Currently, there is no available cure for CP; therefore it is important to prevent this lifelong condition. To prevent CP we must better understand the risk factors during pregnancy which may lead to its onset and development. Studies have suggested that children of obese mothers may be at higher risk of developing CP, but the links between maternal obesity and CP are not yet clearly understood. This study will firstly enable us to better understand the BMI profile of expectant mothers in Northern Ireland. Additionally, we will investigate the proposed association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and development of CP and further explore mediators of this relationship. We will link anonymised maternal health data, neonatal data and information from the Northern Ireland Cerebral Palsy Register on confirmed cases of CP. Ultimately, this novel research has implications for clinical practice in Northern Ireland and beyond, particularly regarding the advice given to women preparing for pregnancy.

The project outlined affords a unique and previously under-utilised opportunity to investigate the association between maternal BMI in pregnancy and risk of cerebral palsy. We propose to link current datasets held by Northern Ireland Regional Maternity system (NIMATS) and NICPR. In utilising existing data held by publicly funded databases, the study is a cost-effective way of using data from key public health resources and answering our research questions using a large and representative population sample. We will also investigate the factors that mediate the association between maternal BMI and development of CP; this is of enormous public health significance because it will highlight where it might be possible to intervene in the chain of events leading to development of CP in children of overweight or obese women. A particular strength of this research project is that it represents and combines several disciplines including, established clinical expertise in the tertiary referral centre for obstetrics in Northern Ireland and also scientific expertise from the Queen’s University, Belfast (School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences and School of Nursing and Midwifery). Ultimately, this work has the potential to change current obstetric practice within the UK as a whole and fulfils the research aims of the Research and Development Office regarding multi-disciplinary research development within the Northern Ireland Health and Social Service.

05/09/2018

TRE