The relationship of bottle feeding and other sucking behaviors with speech disorder in Patagonian preschoolers.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies have shown that children's nonnutritive sucking habits may lead to delayed development of their oral anatomy and functioning. However, these findings were inconsistent. We investigated associations between use of bottles, pacifiers, and other sucking behaviors with speech disorders in children attending three preschools in Punta Arenas (Patagonia), Chile.


METHODS
Information on infant feeding and sucking behaviors, age starting and stopping breast- and bottle-feeding, pacifier use, and other sucking behaviors, was collected from self-administered questionnaires completed by parents. Evaluation of speech problems was conducted at preschools with subsequent scoring by a licensed speech pathologist using age-normative standards.


RESULTS
A total of 128 three- to five-year olds were assessed, 46% girls and 54% boys. Children were breastfed for an average of 25.2 (SD 9.6) months and used a bottle 24.4 (SD 15.2) months. Fifty-three children (41.7%) had or currently used a pacifier for an average of 11.4 (SD 17.3) months; 23 children (18.3%) were reported to have sucked their fingers. Delayed use of a bottle until after 9 months appeared to be protective for subsequent speech disorders. There was less than a one-third lower relative odds of subsequent speech disorders for children with a delayed use of a bottle compared to children without a delayed use of a bottle (OR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.10-0.98). A three-fold increase in relative odds of speech disorder was found for finger-sucking behavior (OR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.10-8.00) and for use of a pacifier for 3 or more years (OR: 3.42, 95% CI: 1.08-10.81).


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest extended use of sucking outside of breastfeeding may have detrimental effects on speech development in young children.
Corporacion de Rehabilitacion Club De Leones Cruz Del Sur, Punta Arenas, Chile. pediatria@rehabilitamos.org
Clarita
C
Barbosa
Sandra
S
Vasquez
Mary A
MA
Parada
Juan Carlos Velez
JC
Gonzalez
Chanaye
C
Jackson
N David
ND
Yanez
Bizu
B
Gelaye
Annette L
AL
Fitzpatrick
D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005386:Fingersucking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D041361:Pacifiers / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013391:Sucking Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires