Mortality due to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer in adults with cerebral palsy

AIM: To compare mortality rates for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory disease between adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and the general population. METHOD: A cohort study was conducted using data from adults with CP in England, identified through a primary care data set (the Clinical Practice Research Datalink), with linked data on death registrations from the Office for National Statistics. Cause of death was categorized according to International Classification of Diseases codes. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated to compare mortality rates between adults with CP and the general population, adjusted for age, sex, and calendar year. RESULTS: Nine hundred and fifty‐eight adults with CP were identified (52.5% males, 47.5% females; median age at start of follow‐up 31y [interquartile range 22–43y]) and followed for a total of 7693 person‐years. One hundred and forty‐two patients (15%) died during follow‐up. Adults with CP had an increased risk of death due to cardiovascular disease (SMR: 3.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.20–4.62) and respiratory disease (SMR: 13.59, 95% CI 9.89–18.67), but not from malignant neoplasms (SMR: 1.42, 95% CI 0.83–2.45). INTERPRETATION: We found that adults with CP in England have increased risk of death due to diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems, supporting findings from two studies that compared cause‐specific mortality rates between adults with CP in the USA and the general population. Further research is required into primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular and respiratory disease in people with CP worldwide. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Adults with cerebral palsy (CP) in England have 14‐fold increased risk of mortality due to diseases of the respiratory system. They have a 3‐fold increased risk of mortality due to diseases of the circulatory system. Adults with CP had an increased risk of death due to cerebrovascular disease and ischaemic heart disease. The elevated risk of ischaemic heart disease, however, did not reach statistical significance at the 5% per cent level.