Childhood Disability Issues Based on Mandatory Clinical Examinations in Azerbaijan in 2014-2019

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, the number of children with physical and mental disabilities accounts for about 3% of the total number of children, as there are about 200 million children with disabilities worldwide. The purpose of the study was to present an analysis of childhood disability in Azerbaijan based on official statistics of mandatory medical examinations conducted in 2014-2019, with calculated prevalence, dynamics, and structure of general and primary disability by age groups. Materials and methods. The study showed that between 2014 and 2019, the number of children with disabilities in Azerbaijan increased by 14% (10,119 people). As for the total structure of the child population, the number of children with disabilities fluctuates between 2.4 and 2.7%. The child disability prevalence rate increased from 246.7 per 10,000 children of the said age in 2014 to 278.3 in 2019. Results. Analysis by age groups shows that the proportion of 0-13-year-olds and 14-17-year-olds in 2014 through 2019 remains unchanged, namely 86% and 14%, respectively. Among children with disabilities, the number of boys (52-54%) exceeds that of girls (46-48%). The age structure of primary childhood disability is dominated by children aged 8-13 years (32%). The decrease of primary disability rates for the period under study occurs throughout all age groups except for the age group of 8-13 years old. The number of children with disabilities aged 0-3 years decreased by 22.7%, 4-7 years by 30%, and 14-17 years by 17.8% during 2014-2019 period. The analysis of primary disability dynamics shows 22% decrease in the total number of children with disabilities registered with medical and social expert assessment institutions for the first time; the largest drop occurred in the categories of circulatory diseases (7-fold), tuberculosis, and respiratory diseases (3-fold). During the research period, an increase of primary disability occurred in diseases of the endocrine system (by 21%), congenital anomalies (malformations) (by 28%), psychiatric/behavioral disorders (by 41%), and diseases of the ear and its appendages (by 34%). Conclusion. The structure of primary morbidity categories causing primary disability in children is dominated by the following major groups of diseases: disorders of the nervous system (G00-G99) accounting for between 9% and 18% in 2014-2019; congenital anomalies (malformations), deformations, and chromosomal disorders (Q00-Q99) accounting for 11-17%, and psychiatric/behavioral disorders (F00-F99) that accounted for 11-18% of the total number of children with disabilities registered with medical and social expert assessment institutions for the first time