Objective: Childhood onset speech
fluency disorder (stuttering) is a communication disorder beginning in
childhood, and is characterised by interruption to speech flow, sound
prolongations and pauses produced by repetition of a particular sound or word.
The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics,
comorbid psychiatric diagnoses and other variables that are associated with
stuttering.
Methods: Sixty-four children and adolescents aged under
18 years and attending the child and adolescent psychiatry or
otorhinolaryngology (ENT) outpatient clinic between November 2017 and June 2019
were enrolled in the study. ENT examination was carried out. A sociodemographic
questionnaire was also administered to the participants. The psychiatric
evaluation of the patients was performed according to DSM-5 criteria.
Results: The mean age was 7.36±3.76 years. 70.3% of the
cases were male. The mean age at onset of stuttering was 4.85±2.34 years and
the average stuttering duration was 2.31 years. In 31.3% of cases a life
stressor had preceded stuttering, 21.9% had a positive family history, and
40.6% had comorbid psychiatric morbidity. The most common comorbid psychiatric
diagnoses were specific learning disorder, speech sound disorder and attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Conclusion: According to the results
obtained, stuttering was 2.3 times more common in males, and 68.7% of all cases
were below the age of 5 years. The most common psychiatric diagnoses found in
cases of stuttering are within the neurodevelopmental disorders grouping. Since
psychiatric diagnoses occur at such a high frequency, it is important to
address this comorbidity when treating stuttering.
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Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Health Care Administration |
Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 20, 2019 |
Submission Date | August 24, 2019 |
Acceptance Date | September 2, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2019 Volume: 9 Issue: 3 |