Early detection of developmental disorders in primary health care

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the ways of detecting developmental disorders in children in primary health care. We processed data from medical records of 2 634 children examined at Pediatric Dispensary, Military Hospital, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, during the 2000-2009 period. Children were born between 1990 and 2009. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the High Risk Registry and collected data on 211 588 visits. We also conducted unstructured interview with pediatricians. For statistical data analysis, we used chi-square test with the level of signifi cance of p<0.05. During the 2000-2009 period, developmental disorders were detected in 172 (6.5%) children, 112 male and 60 female. Most children (81.9%) had specifi c developmental disorders of speech and language. From all children, 272 (10.3%) had perinatal biological risk factors. Fifty-seven (21%) children with risk factors had developmental disorders. Our study showed that in most children, developmental disorders were detected after 24 months of age. Most children with developmental disorders were males. Because of the more intensive follow up, developmental disorders in children born with perinatal biological risk factors were detected earlier than in children born without these risk factors. Further studies could focus on the prevention of risk factors and developmental disorders.