Incidence of Plagiocephaly in Teens Born after “Back to Sleep” Campaign

Abstract

Objective: Determine the incidence of positional plagiocephaly in teenagers born after the “Back to Sleep” Campaign but before orthotic helmet treatment became widely available.

Method: This is a cross-sectional analysis. Subjects were selected if they attended participating high schools and were born after 1992, which is when the “Back to Sleep” campaign began. Skull measurements, including transcranial diameter, circumference, length, and width, were taken. Cranial vault asymmetry and cephalic index were calculated for each participant.

Results: There were 411 participants in this study ranging from age 14 to 18 years old, with the average age of 16.3 years. The diagnosis of plagiocephaly was made if cranial vault asymmetry was >1 centimeter. Brachycephaly was diagnosed if the cephalic index was >0.90. The incidence of plagiocephaly based on the above criteria was 1.3% in females and 2.7% of males. The incidence of brachycephaly was 0.9% in females and 1.6% in males. Of those noted to have abnormal facial characteristics (telecanthus, frontal prominence), 40% had plagiocephaly and 6.7% had brachycephaly.

Conclusion: The incidence of plagiocephaly in teenagers is significantly lower than the 20% to 48% incidence found in infants in previous studies, suggesting a significant number of infants will outgrow it. Physicians must recognize plagiocephaly and gain insight into which patients might benefit from treatment and which will likely have resolution without intervention.