Prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children from the rural population of Oaxaca evaluated by means of the Child Development Evaluation test

Abstract

During child's growth, access to health, nutrition, opportunities for stimulation, and early learning are necessary for an optimal development of the central nervous system. In rural areas there is a lack of access to them, and this has an impact on children's neurodevelopment. To identify the prevalence of lag or delay in the development of children in rural areas. A descriptive, cross-sectional and prospective study, with non-probabilistic convenience sampling, where 97 infants from 1 month of age to one day before their 5th birthday, all belonging to rural communities in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, were applied the Child Development Evaluation, designed and validated for the Mexican population in the early detection of neurodevelopmental problems. The prevalence of developmental disorders was 43%, with predominance in the male sex. The area of development with the greatest affectation was language, with a total of 29%, and in second place gross motor skills, with 18%; however, neurological affectation as the only one occurred in 2% of the participants, the most prevalent risk factors were the urinary tract infections in 56% of mothers. There is a percentage greater than 30% of neurodevelopmental disorders in rural communities due to social risk factors that infants face, such as the difficult access to medical care, a poorly stimulating environment and bad nutrition.