CEREBRAL-PALSY, PERINATAL DEPRESSION AND LOW PONDERAL INDEX

To determine whether asymmetric growth restriction, abnormally lean bo dy morphology, is associated with cerebral palsy (CP) in infants born with perinatal depression, perinatally depressed Collaborative Perinat al Project infants were assessed. Rates of ponderal index less than 5% for gestational age and race (low PI), a marker for asymmetric growth , were compared in infants either neurologically normal or having CP a t 7 years of age. Low P1 was associated with CP in infants with Apgar scores of 0 to 3 at 10, 15 or 20 minutes in both of these groups, afte r exclusion of small-for-gestational-age infants, and was a significan t individual correlate of cerebral palsy with multiple logistic regres sion. The attributable risk of cerebral palsy related to low PI was 12 .4%.