Department of Pediatric Neurology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep, Turkey
Turk J Med Sci. 2021 Aug 30;51(4):1809-1813. doi: 10.3906/sag-2011-43.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a nonprogressive neurodevelopmental disorder that cause damage to the developing brain (0–3 years) for various reasons. Children with CP commonly have speech disorders due to impairment in neuromuscular control of oro-motor coordination. We focused on the relationship between breast milk intake and speech functions in children with CP.
The gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) was used to categorize the gross motor function. The viking speech scale (VSS) was used to classify the speech in children with cerebral palsy. Children were subdivided into two groups as term and preterm based on gestational age. The duration of exclusive breast milk intake was defined as the period when the infant received breast milk alone. We used Spearman’s correlation coefficient to evaluate the relationship between the duration of breast milk intake, GMFCS, and VSS.
The median level of viking speech scale was 2 in preterm-born children and 4 in term-born children. There was no correlation between age and VSS levels.We observed a statistically significant difference in terms of preterm- or term-born status among children with different VSS levels. There was a weak positive correlation between birth weight and VSS level, indicating better speech function in children with lower birth weight. There was a moderate negative correlation between the duration of exclusive breast milk intake, the total duration of breast milk intake, and the corrected age of weaning completion with VSS level.
The duration of breast milk intake may reflect the oromotor function and predict speech performance in children with cerebral palsy. We wanted to emphasize that speech language therapy is as important as motor rehabilitation.
背景/目的：脑瘫（CP）是一种非进行性神经发育障碍，由各种原因导致发育中的大脑（0-3 岁）受损。CP 儿童由于口运动协调的神经肌肉控制受损，通常会出现言语障碍。我们专注于 CP 儿童的母乳摄入量与言语功能之间的关系。
使用粗大运动功能分类系统（GMFCS）对粗大运动功能进行分类。使用 Viking 言语量表（VSS）对脑瘫儿童的言语进行分类。根据胎龄将儿童分为足月和早产两组。纯母乳喂养时间定义为婴儿仅接受母乳喂养的时期。我们使用 Spearman 相关系数评估母乳喂养时间、GMFCS 和 VSS 之间的关系。
早产儿的 Viking 言语量表中位数为 2，足月儿为 4。年龄与 VSS 水平之间没有相关性。我们观察到不同 VSS 水平的儿童在早产儿或足月儿的出生状态方面存在统计学显著差异。出生体重与 VSS 水平之间存在弱正相关，表明出生体重较低的儿童言语功能较好。纯母乳喂养时间、母乳喂养总时间和断奶完成时的校正年龄与 VSS 水平之间存在中度负相关。
母乳喂养时间可能反映口运动功能，并预测脑瘫儿童的言语表现。我们想强调的是，言语语言治疗与运动康复同样重要。
