title: Mild intellectual disability in children in Lahore, Pakistan: aetiology and risk factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the main objectives of studying intellectual disability (ID) in children is to explore its causes. A specific aetiological diagnosis is important in determining the prognosis, nature and extent of services needed to support affected children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aetiology and risk factors in mild ID were studied in a cohort of longitudinally followed children (6-10 years of age, n = 40) in four population groups in and around Lahore, Pakistan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of mild ID was 6.2%. In 22% of the cases the onset of mild ID was prenatal with small for gestational age and multifactorial inheritance as the main underlying factors. During the postnatal period (28% of the cases), social deprivation and malnutrition were the major causes of ID. In a substantial proportion of the cases (50%), the cause of ID could not be traced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study indicates a clear relationship of mild ID with prenatal and postnatal malnutrition and social deprivation. Two independent variables, maternal illiteracy and small head circumference at birth, showed a clear association with the development of mild mental disability among children in the study population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Maternity and Children's Hospital, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia. drmyaqoob56@hotmail.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yaqoob
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bashir
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ferngren
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Von Dobeln
authors.forename: K-H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Gustavson
mesh_terms: D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology; D008423:Maternal Age; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016487:Parenting; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data