C. Cans et al., CHILDHOOD MOTOR DEFICIENCIES - A NEED FOR A NOSOLOGIC CLARIFICATION IN EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES, Archives de pediatrie, 3(1), 1996, pp. 75-80
In order to clarify the epidemiological research on childhood motor de
ficiency in France there is a need to better differenciate the two ter
ms used to define this pathology: the French term ''infirmite motrice
cerebrale'' (IMC) and the English term ''cerebral palsy'' (CP). The di
stinction between IMC and CP is highlighted on the basis of clinical e
xamples. IMC recovers motor deficiencies which are quite similar, howe
ver it can be very difficult to control the variations in its use. CP
has the advantage of a greater exhaustivity as well as a greater repro
ductibility for epidemiological records. Recently a study was conducte
d for measuring the prevalence of childhood deficiencies in France, an
d the results were expressed either as IMC or as CP. When using the CP
definition the prevalence rate in France was found to be close to tha
t of foreign studies (1.9 per thousand). In studies with etiological p
urposes involving several countries, a preliminary agreement on the de
finition of the clinical groups is absolutely necessary.