Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Important long-term study of children with the 7-year data.

I am busy right now, but maybe some of you can give its relevance. It seems to be one of or the largest study ever done?

 2017 Oct 3:1-12. doi: 10.1044/2017_JSLHR-S-16-0205. [Epub ahead of print]

The History of Stuttering by 7 Years of Age: Follow-Up of a Prospective Community Cohort.

Kefalianos E1,2,3Onslow M4Packman A4Vogel A1,3,5Pezic A2Mensah F2,6,7Conway L2,6Bavin E8Block S9Reilly S2,6,10.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

For a community cohort of children confirmed to have stuttered by the age of 4 years, we report (a) the recovery rate from stuttering, (b) predictors of recovery, and (c) comorbidities at the age of 7 years.

METHOD:

This study was nested in the Early Language in Victoria Study. Predictors of stuttering recovery included child, family, and environmental measures and first-degree relative history of stuttering. Comorbidities examined at 7 years included temperament, language, nonverbal cognition, and health-related quality of life.

RESULTS:

The recovery rate by the age of 7 years was 65%. Girls with stronger communication skills at the age of 2 years had higher odds of recovery (adjusted OR = 7.1, 95% CI [1.3, 37.9], p = .02), but similar effects were not evident for boys (adjusted OR = 0.5, 95% CI [0.3, 1.1], p = .10). At the age of 7 years, children who had recovered from stuttering were more likely to have stronger language skills than children whose stuttering persisted (p = .05). No evident differences were identified on other outcomes including nonverbal cognition, temperament, and parent-reported quality of life.

CONCLUSION:

Overall, findings suggested that there may be associations between language ability and recovery from stuttering. Subsequent research is needed to explore the directionality of this relationship.