Sociocultural risk factors for developmental delay in children aged 3–60 months: a nested case-control study

Aylin Demirci, Mehtap Kartal

Identifying children at risk for developmental delay (DD) is important for improving prognosis. In this sense, we estimated sociocultural factors that may be associated with DD in early childhood. In our nested case-control study, 95 were included in the case group and 190 were randomly selected to control group. To identify the risk factors, we conducted a backward conditional logistic regression and a final multivariable model was developed. Maternal age of ≥35 years, low maternal and paternal education level, low socioeconomic level, consanguineous marriage, and delivery by cesarean section increased the risk of DD. After adjustment, the risk of DD was significantly increased by maternal age ≥ 35 years (odds ratio (OR) 3.04, 95%CI 1.38-6.70), maternal education level of primary school or lower (OR 14.56, 95%CI 5.40-39.24), consanguineous marriage (OR 3.99, 95%CI 1.69-9.40), and delivery by cesarean section (OR 3.34, 95%CI 1.80-6.18). DD can be identified early during well-child visits. In such cases, it is critical for the health of the child and community to screen for possible risk factors, eliminate the causes, and refer families to rehabilitation services. What is known: • The causes of DD may be classified into prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors. • Early identification may improve later outcomes of DD. Most studies conducted on this topic have focused on prematurity. What is new: • This study focused on maternal, paternal, and sociocultural factors that may be associated with DD in early childhood in this study that was conducted on a community-based sample. • The risk of DD was increased by maternal age ≥ 35 years, maternal education level of primary school or lower, consanguineous marriage and delivery by cesarean section.