Prevalence and associated impairments of mild mental retardation in six- to ten-year old children in Pakistan: a prospective study.
The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of mild mental retardation (MMR) in 6-10-y-old children in a prospectively followed cohort in Pakistan from four areas with different socioeconomic conditions. Retarded children were identified by a two-step method, comprising a household screening with the Ten Questions Screening in 649 families followed by clinical investigation and psychometric testing (WISC-R and Griffiths) of the 132 children found by the screening. The overall prevalence of MMR among 6-10-y-old children was 6.2%. The distribution of MMR was uneven, with 1.2% among children from the upper-middle class, 4.8% in the village, 6.1% in the urban slum and 10.5% in the poor periurban slum area. Additional impairments were found in 75% of the children with MMR, of which speech impairment was the most common.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of MMR was found to be higher in a developing country than in developed countries. It also seemed to be related to poor socioeconomic conditions, as the prevalence in the upper-middle class was comparable to figures from developed countries, while the prevalence in children from poor population groups was much higher.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University College London, UK.
A
A
Bashir
M
M
Yaqoob
H
H
Ferngren
K H
KH
Gustavson
P A
PA
Rydelius
T
T
Ansari
S
S
Zaman
D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors