Early Life Complications and SLI (Whitehouse et al., 2014)

Purpose: Although genetic factors are known to play a causal role in specific language impairment (SLI), environmental factors may also be important. This study examined whether there are prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal factors that are associated with childhood SLI.Method: Participants were members of the Raine Study, a prospective cohort investigation of pregnant women and their offspring. Parent report indicated that 26 children had received a clinical diagnosis of SLI. Data from antenatal and birth medical records were compared between the children with SLI and typically developing comparison children (N = 1,799).Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the SLI and comparison groups in the individual prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal factors examined. Aggregate risk scores were calculated for each period on the basis of factors known to be associated with neurodevelopmental disorder. There were no group differences in aggregate risk scores in the prenatal and perinatal periods. However, significantly more children in the SLI group (50%) compared with the comparison group (27.6%) experienced 2 or more risk factors during the neonatal period.Conclusion: The vast majority of prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal complications do not play a clear causal role in childhood SLI. However, poor neonatal health may signify increased risk for SLI.

目的：尽管遗传因素在特定语言障碍（SLI）的因果作用中已知，但环境因素亦可能扮演重要角色。本研究旨在探究是否存在与儿童期SLI相关的孕期、围产期及新生儿期因素。方法：参与者为Raine研究的一部分，该研究为一项针对孕妇及其后代的纵向队列调查。家长报告显示，有26名儿童接受了SLI的临床诊断。将SLI儿童与发育正常的对照儿童（N = 1,799）的产前和出生医学记录数据进行比较。结果：在所考察的个体孕期、围产期及新生儿期因素中，SLI组和对照组之间均未发现具有统计学意义的差异。基于已知与神经发育障碍相关因素的汇总风险评分在每个时期均被计算。在孕期和围产期，两组的汇总风险评分没有组间差异。然而，与对照儿童组（27.6%）相比，SLI组中有更多儿童（50%）在新生儿期经历了2个或以上的风险因素。结论：绝大多数孕期、围产期及新生儿期并发症并未在儿童期SLI中发挥明显的因果作用。然而，不良的新生儿健康状况可能预示着SLI风险的增加。