Because CHILD syndrome is a congenital disorder, the symptoms may be present at birth or may develop during the first few weeks of life and continue for the lifetime of the patient.

CHILD syndrome is a rare disorder with only 60 recorded cases worldwide thus far in literature.

Propionic acidemia is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern and is found in about 1 in 35,000 live births in the United States. The condition appears to be more common in Saudi Arabia, with a frequency of about 1 in 3,000. The condition also appears to be common in Amish, Mennonite and other populations where inbreeding is common.

Propionic acidemia, also known as propionic aciduria, propionyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency and ketotic glycinemia, is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder, classified as a branched-chain organic acidemia.

The disorder presents in the early neonatal period with progressive encephalopathy. Death can occur quickly, due to secondary hyperammonemia, infection, cardiomyopathy, or basal ganglial stroke.

Propionic acidemia is a rare disorder that is inherited from both parents. Being autosomal recessive, neither parent shows symptoms, but both carry a defective gene responsible for this disease. It takes two faulty genes to cause PA, so there is a 1 in 4 chance for these parents to have a child with PA.