Eapen V, Zoubeidi T, Yunis F
Faculty of Medicine, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Child Care Health Dev. 2004 Sep;30(5):541-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2004.00438.x.
Developmental language delay (DLD) is frequent among two- and three-year-olds but little is known about this condition in the Arabian Peninsula. This paper forms part of a multipurpose community psychiatric survey conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings regarding the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of DLD are reported here.
A total of 694 children, representative of the UAE 3-year-old population were screened using the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) and the language screening procedure as used by Westerlund and Sundelin.
Of the 694 children screened for DLD at 3 years of age, 69 children (9.9%; CI 7.8-12.4) were found to have delays in the language sector of DDST. A total of 45 (6.5%; CI 4.3-8.7) were identified as having general language disability, both in comprehension and expression as per the language screening procedure. Language delay was found to be associated with rural living, mother being from a different nationality, non-involvement of domestic help in child care, family history of language delay, obstetric and perinatal problems and presence of behavioural problems in the child. Using stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis, two factors emerged as important with regard to general language delay, which were previous non-UAE nationality of the mother and total monthly income of the family.
The pattern and correlates of DLD found in this survey are in line with those reported by other surveys, but some unique socio-cultural risk factors specific to this community were identified. The implications of these findings to screening and referral for further evaluation and intervention are discussed.
发育性语言迟缓（DLD）在两岁和三岁儿童中很常见，但在阿拉伯半岛，人们对这种情况知之甚少。本文是在阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）进行的一项多用途社区精神病学调查的一部分。本文报告了关于DLD患病率及其社会心理相关因素的研究结果。
使用丹佛发育筛查测试（DDST）以及韦斯特隆德和松德林所采用的语言筛查程序，对694名代表阿联酋3岁儿童群体的儿童进行了筛查。
在694名接受3岁DLD筛查的儿童中，有69名儿童（9.9%；置信区间7.8 - 12.4）在DDST的语言部分存在延迟。根据语言筛查程序，共有45名儿童（6.5%；置信区间4.3 - 8.7）被确定为存在一般性语言障碍，在理解和表达方面均有问题。研究发现，语言迟缓与农村居住、母亲来自不同国籍、家庭佣人不参与儿童照料、语言迟缓家族史、产科和围产期问题以及儿童存在行为问题有关。通过逐步多元逻辑回归分析，发现有两个因素对于一般性语言迟缓较为重要，即母亲以前的非阿联酋国籍以及家庭月总收入。
本次调查中发现的DLD模式及其相关因素与其他调查所报告的一致，但也确定了一些该社区特有的独特社会文化风险因素。本文讨论了这些研究结果对筛查以及转介进行进一步评估和干预的意义。
