ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AMONG SIBLINGS OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY ATTENDING NEUROLOGY CLINIC AT ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL Elham Elsayed Elsakka, Shimaa Anwar Mohamed, Mohamed Abdelhady Ali Abdelhady Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt

Abstract

: CP is a group of permanent disorders of motor function, which are due to a non-progressive lesion, or abnormality of the developing/immature brain. Motor function disorders are often accompanied by other dysfunctions, such as: sensation, perceptual, cognitive, communication and behavioral disorders, epilepsy, and secondary musculoskeletal disorders. (1) It is the most common cause of motor disability in childhood. (2)The worldwide prevalence of CP ranges from 1 to 4 per 1,000 live births. In Egypt, the prevalence is about 2.6-4.6 per 1,000 live births.Having a child with CP in the family not only affects parents’ lives including physical and psychological well-being, financial stability and support of services , but also affects normal siblings, who are considered as “population at risk to experience psychological difficulties” .(5, 6) According to the American Psychiatric Association, behavioral disorders , anxiety disorders, and depression are the most common pediatric psychiatric disorders.(7)Anxiety disorders are among the most common childhood emotional problems, with lifetime prevalence ranging from 8.3% to 27%.(8)Depression: is a mental state or chronic mental disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, loneliness, despair, low self-esteem, signs of psychomotor retardation ,or less frequently, agitation, withdrawal from social contact ,change of appetite and insomnia.(10)The overall prevalence of pediatric depressive disorders is 12.3% with 14.1% for females and 8.6% for males.(11)