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Changing rates of physical and psychosocial impairments over 9 years in cohorts of school beginners in Germany

Long-term trends of impairments in children

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 November 2009

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of impairments of physical and psychosocial development in children commencing primary school and to analyse changes over 9 years in consecutive cohorts.

Patients and method

We utilised a retrospective cross-sectional study design to assess the prevalence of impairments over nine consecutive cohorts of German children beginning school from 1997 to 2005. A total of 9,514 children were assessed for physical and psychosocial impairment using a manualised medical assessment.

Results

There was a dramatic increase in the rates of motor and speech disorders detected among children tested over the 9-year period. We observed a seven-fold increase in motor impairments (OR 7.1; 95% CI 4.2–11.7) and almost a three-fold increase in speech disorders (OR 2.6; 95% CI 2.1–3.3) from 1997 to 2005. Males had higher rates of impairment in all domains of functioning as compared to females (26.0% vs 15.3%; p < 0.0005). By 2005, however, girls had comparable rates of speech and motor impairments to males. No clear pattern of change in behavioural or cognitive impairments was seen.

Conclusions

The data suggest a changing pattern of deficits in young children, especially girls, which is alarming and warrants close scrutiny. Potential confounding factors may have influenced the results, which should be interpreted with caution. Further research is needed to support our results and to identify the aetiologies of the observed changes. If confirmed, our data have implications for intervention and public health initiatives.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors disclose any relevant associations that might pose a conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrated Mental Health Care Services, Townsville General Hospital, Townsville, Australia

    Riccardo N. Caniato

  2. Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Heribert L. Stich & Alexander Kraemer

  3. Cardiovascular Neurosciences Division, Baker Heart Research Institute & Behavioural Neurosciences Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton Victoria, Australia

    Marlies Alvarenga

  4. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia

    Bernhard T. Baune

  5. School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Queensland, 4811, Australia

    Bernhard T. Baune

Authors
  1. Riccardo N. Caniato
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  2. Heribert L. Stich
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  3. Marlies Alvarenga
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  4. Alexander Kraemer
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  5. Bernhard T. Baune
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Correspondence to Bernhard T. Baune.

Additional information

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10389-009-0295-0.

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Caniato, R.N., Stich, H.L., Alvarenga, M. et al. Changing rates of physical and psychosocial impairments over 9 years in cohorts of school beginners in Germany. J Public Health 17, 137–144 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-008-0221-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-008-0221-x

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