The socio-familial background and prevalence of medical aetiological factors in children attending ESN/M schools.
A study of 169 midly mentally retarded children included consideration of social class, medical risk factors, sibship position, family size and parental education. Ninety-four (56%) children were from social class IV or V. Medical risk factors were identified in 71 (42%) children overall: the prevalence fell from 55% in social class II to 30% in social class V. Prenatal factors were identified in 22 children of whom 14 were third or later born in their sibship: this may reflect increased maternal age at birth. Perinatal events had been reported in 41 children, 20 of whom were in social class III; there was no clear relationship to sibship position. Seven of eight postnatal events had occurred in children in social class II or III. Children in social class IV or V did not appear to be at increased risk of retardation from environmental medical events. Firstborn children were over-represented in the survey, with a minor shift towards fourth-or later-born children. Average family size was 3.25 children (general population 2.0 children). The prevalence of medical risk factors was lowest (18%) in children from large sibships in social class V. Both parents of 86 children had had educational problems: this included 13 children in social class III. Thirty-eight (33%) of these children had medical risk factors, compared with 43/83 (51%) in children where at least one patient had achieved average education. Thirty children had no medical risk factor, nor any history of parental learning difficulty.
Department of Child Health, Southampton General Hospital, England.
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Lamont
D002648:Child; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D007360:Intelligence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class