Purpose Developmental disabilities (DDs) are a global childhood problem whose prevalence is rising, with a disproportionate impact on individuals in low-and middle-income countries. However, data on the prevalence of DDs in the Arab world are limited. This review highlights what is currently known about the prevalence and risk factors of DDs in preschool children in the Arab world.
Methods PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were searched for publications on DDs among preschool children in the Arab world. Only 14 studies were identified in the literature, from 12 Arab countries.
Results The overall estimated prevalence of DDs among preschool children in the Arab world is 27.5%. An analysis of risk factors for DDs showed that child-related, maternal, and family-related factors account for a significant cumulative risk of developing DDs in preschool children. Maternal factors, such as antenatal and perinatal complications, were the most common risk factors.
Conclusion The prevalence of DDs among preschoolers is significantly high in the Arab world, which emphasizes the importance of the early detection and diagnosis of DD, as well as its associated risk factors.
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PURPOSE This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of questionable development according to developmental screening testing for children, and to explore biological and environmental risk factors of developmental delays. METHOD The study participants were 153 children under two years of age. A questionnaire and Home Observation for measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory were used to collect data, and Korean Denver II was administered. RESULTS The overall prevalence of questionable development was 11.1%. Significant differences in biological factors between the normal development group and questionable development group were the rate of prematurity, twins, the educational level of mother and father's and the presence of an illness in the mother (p<.10). Maternal acceptance in HOME was significantly different between the two groups. The factors related to questionable development that were significant in the logistic regression analysis were prematurity (OR=3.56, p=.026), and maternal acceptance in HOME score (OR=.629, p=.028). CONCLUSION Early developmental screening tests seem necessary for all children, especially for prematurely born children. Also, child rearing environments were identified as significant factors in the development of all children.
These findings suggest that the HOME scores might be useful in identifying children at risk for developmental delays, and that interventions for these children will probably be more effective if their mothers are helped to provide a more appropriate social environment.
, Lubna Abushaikha
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