Abstract
BackgroundFactors influencing child development are not well studied in developing settings, and especially in Mongolia. This cohort study examined the relationship between maternal socio-demographic and psychological conditions on risk of young child developmental delay.MethodsA total of 150 children aged between 13 ~ 24 months old participated in this study. The participants were randomly selected from a pre-existing cohort of 1297 children who were involved in a study on infant bilirubin nomogram development conducted at a tertiary health facility in Mongolia between 2012 and 2013. Child development was evaluated using the Mongolian Rapid Baby Scale (MORBAS), a validated scale for child development. The potential factors for child developmental delay were assessed using a pre-tested questionnaire comprising of 52 questions. Fisher’s exact test and multivariable logistic regression analysis were conducted.ResultsSeventeen (11%) out of the 150 children that participated in the study were at risk of developmental delay. There was a negative association between the risk of child developmental delay and higher maternal education (AOR 0.15, 95% CI: 0.03–0.66). Increasing maternal age (AOR 1.12, 95%CI: 0.98–1.27), maternal depression symptoms (AOR 4.93, 95%CI: 0.93–26.10), child gender being female (AOR 0.25, 95%CI: 0.06–1.00) and being from single mother household (AOR 0.14, 95%CI: 0.01–1.11) were also predictors for risk of developmental delay – although the association was marginal.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that being of underprivileged social status, and poor psychological condition of mothers in Mongolia possibly increases the risk of child developmental delays. Interventions targeting these modifiable predictors are needed to develop prevention strategies for child developmental delay.
Highlights
Factors influencing child development are not well studied in developing settings, and especially in Mongolia
Eleven percent of the study children were at risk of developmental delay while higher maternal educational level was found to be strongly protective against the risk of child development delay
In conclusion, we found that maternal education plays an important role in reducing the risk of child developmental delay
Summary
Factors influencing child development are not well studied in developing settings, and especially in Mongolia. A recent review involving studies from both developing and developed countries reported increased risk of developmental delays in children with severe neonatal jaundice [5]. Late diagnosis of neonatal jaundice may cause physical and mental retardation including hearing problems, and visual impairments [5, 6]. These conditions are reported to occur in up to 40% of newborns with moderate hyperbilirubinemia (serum bilirubin concentration 10–20 mg/dl) increasing the risk of other neurodevelopmental problems [7]
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