The prevalence of neurological disorders in Saudi children: a community-based study.

There are limited data on the pattern and prevalence of pediatric chronic neurologicconditions in the region. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of these disorders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A multistage probability sampling designwas used to select a random sample of Saudi households representative of the Saudi population. A total of 45 682 Saudi children were screened. Of these children, 313 had a chronic major neurologic disorderindicating a prevalence of 68.5 per 10 000 children, which was the highest among all chronic diseases in children. Mental retardation and cerebral palsy were the most common neurologic disordersamong Saudi children with a prevalence rate of 26.3/10 000 and 23.4/10 000, respectively. The finding that major neurologic disordersare the most common pediatric chronic disorders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia indicates that priority should be given to research and education as well as health care planning.