Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Dyslexic Children in a Middle-Sized City of China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Zhao Sun,Xuzai Lu,Ranran Song,Shengnan Mo,Xiaoping Miao,Shanshan Shao,Rong Zhong,Jiajia Zhang,Li Zou,Juntao Ke

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056688

Abstract

BackgroundThere are many discussions about dyslexia based on studies conducted in western countries, and some risk factors to dyslexia, such as gender and home literacy environment, have been widely accepted based on these studies. However, to our knowledge, there are few studies focusing on the risk factors of dyslexia in China. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of dyslexia and its potential risk factors.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Qianjiang, a city in Hubei province, China. Two stages sampling strategy was applied to randomly selected 5 districts and 9 primary schools in Qianjiang. In total, 6,350 students participated in this study and there were 5,063 valid student questionnaires obtained for the final analyses. Additional questionnaires (such as Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children and Pupil Rating Scale) were used to identify dyslexic children. The chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were employed to reveal the potential risk factors to dyslexia.ResultsOur study revealed that the prevalence of dyslexia was 3.9% in Qianjiang city, which is a middle-sized city in China. Among dyslexic children, the gender ratio (boys to girls) was nearly 3∶1. According to the P-value in the multivariate logistic regression, the gender (P<0.01), mother's education level (P<0.01), and learning habits (P<0.01) (active learning, scheduled reading time) were associated with dyslexia.ConclusionThe prevalence rate of dyslexic children in middle-sized cities is 3.9%. The potential risk factors of dyslexic children revealed in this study will have a great impact on detecting and treating dyslexic children in China as early as possible, although more studies are still needed to further investigate the risk factors of dyslexic children in China.

Highlights

Reading is one of the most important approaches to acquire information in modern society
Developmental dyslexia is defined as a specific and significant impairment in reading ability that cannot be explained by deficits in intelligence, learning opportunity, motivation or sensory acuity [1] and it can occur in areas of basic reading skills, written expression, listening and speaking
We explored the prevalence rate of dyslexia and possible risk factors, including those related to school and family environment

Summary

Introduction

Reading is one of the most important approaches to acquire information in modern society. Developmental dyslexia is defined as a specific and significant impairment in reading ability that cannot be explained by deficits in intelligence, learning opportunity, motivation or sensory acuity [1] and it can occur in areas of basic reading skills, written expression, listening and speaking. It has great wide effect on children involving aspects such as education, career, communication and even health. To our knowledge, there are few studies focusing on the risk factors of dyslexia in China. The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of dyslexia and its potential risk factors

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Methods

Results

Conclusion