Table 3 Burden of developmental disabilities in children under 5 years and summary of evidence by condition

Cerebral palsy^b

8,071,408 (7,113,334–9,231,577)

African Region [2.7 m], Southeast Asia [2.4 m]

India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, DR-Congo, Brazil, Tanzania and Indonesia

Amongst preterm neonates:

Antenatal corticosteroids: RR 0.60 (95%CI 0.34–1.03)

Magnesium sulphate: RR 0.68 (95%CI 0.54–0.87)

Prophylactic caffeine: RR 0.54 (95%CI 0.32–0.92)

Amongst term neonates:

Neonatal hypothermia: RR 0.66 (95%CI 0.54–0.82)

-

Environmental enrichment: SMD 0.39 (95%CI 0.05–0.72)

Physical therapy plus adjuncts: ES 1.91 (95% CI 0.28–3.54)

Early rehab improves development: OR 4.98 (95% CI 3.66–6.79)

Earlier onset of independent walking: ES 1.47 (95%CI − 2.97–0.03)

Cognitive impairment^b

16,057,584 (11,515,194–20,980,652)

Southeast Asia [6.3 m], African Region [3.3 m]

India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, DR-Congo, Egypt, Afghanistan and USA

Amongst preterm neonates: Prophylactic rhEPO reduced the risk of neurocognitive impairment at 18–26 months’ corrected age: OR 0.61 (95%CI 0.39–0.96)

-

-

Hearing Loss^a

14,148,322 (12,036,835–16,216,298)

Sub-Saharan Africa [4.4 m], South Asia [3.9 m]

India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, DR-Congo, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Brazil and USA

-

Identification of hearing loss with universal newborn hearing screening: 13.2 months earlier (95% CI − 26.3 to − 0.01)

-

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder^a

1,367,582 (898,677–1,947,054)

East Asia and Pacific [0.5 m], South Asia [0.2 m]

China, India, Nigeria, USA, Ethiopia, DR-Congo, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia and Iram

-

-

Neurocognitive and behavioural interventions improve ADHD symptoms SMD = 0.43 (95%CI 0.22–0.64) and working memory SMD = 0.37 (95%CI 0.06–0.69)

Autism Spectrum Disorder^a

2,912,437 (2,418,074–3,461,585)

Sub-Saharan Africa [0.8 m], East Asia and Pacific [0.7 m]

India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, USA, Ethiopia, Brazil, Bangladesh and DR-Congo

Diagnostic tests: sensitivity: 0.72 (95% CI 0.61–0.81), specificity: 0.98 (95% CI 0.97–0.99)

Spoken word ES = 0.26 (95%CI 0.11–0.42)

Community based ES = 0.21 (95%CI 0.13–0.29)

Parent-mediated ES = 0.16 (95%CI 0.02–0.31)

Intensive behavioural MD = 9.58 (95%CI 5.57–13.60)

Behavioural and social communication interventions SMD: 0.53 (95%CI 0.29–0.78)

Early Start Denver Model ES = 0.27 (95%CI 0.02–0.53)