Association between bronchopulmonary dysplasia and cerebral palsy in children: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and the risk of cerebral palsy (CP) in children. DATA SOURCES: We used EMBASE, PubMed and Web of Science to conduct a meta-analysis of studies published before 1 September 2017, written in English whose titles or abstracts discussed an association between BPD and CP. STUDY SELECTION: Observational studies, for example, case–control and cohort studies were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: All review stages were conducted by two reviewers independently. Data synthesis was undertaken via meta-analysis of available evidence. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The prevalence of developing CP was measured after exposure to BPD. RESULTS: Among 1234 initially identified studies, we selected those that addressed an association between BPD and CP according to our preselected inclusion criteria. Our meta-analysis included 11 studies. According to a random effect model, BPD was significantly associated with CP (ORs 2.10; 95% CI 1.57 to 2.82) in preterm infants. Factors explaining differences in the study results included study design, the definition of BPD, the time of diagnosis of CP and whether the studies adjusted for potential confounders. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that BPD is a risk factor for CP. Further studies are required to confirm these results and to detect the influence of variables across studies.