A new study reveals that there is a correlation between a low vitality score at birth and a subsequent diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a disorder that appears during the first years of life and affects the body's muscles and movement.

The researchers used the Apgar score for its study. The score measures complexion, pulse rate, muscle tone, breathing and reaction when stimulated and is a number between zero and ten. An Apgar score of 3 or below is considered critically low, while a score of 4 to 6 is fairly low and a score of 7 to 10 is generally normal.

The study used data from the births of 543,064 Norwegian children born between the years of 1986 and 1995. Of these children, 1.8 in 1,000, or 988 children, received a diagnosis of cerebral palsy within their first five years of life.

The research revealed that children with an Apgar score of less than three at birth had a 100-fold higher incidence of cerebral palsy than children with an Apgar score of 10. While a low Apgar score was strongly associated with cerebral palsy in children with normal birth weight, there was only a modest association with a low score and cerebral palsy in children with low birth weights.

Still, the researchers found that almost 90 percent of children with an Apgar score of less than four never developed cerebral palsy.

The researchers proposed that a low Apgar score could be a result of brain impairment that happened during the child's delivery. They reached the conclusion that the causes of cerebral palsy are closely correlated with factors that reduce infant vitality.

In the United States, approximately two to three children per every 1,000 children born are affected by cerebral palsy.

Source: BusinessWeek "Low Vitality Score at Birth Associated with Cerebral Palsy Risk" 8 October 2010