ABSTRACT
Introduction Communication is the exchange of information through speaking, writing, and other mediums. Speech is the expression of thoughts in spoken words. Language is the principal method that humans use for relaying information; consisting of words conveyed by speech, writing, or gestures. Language is the conceptual processing of communication. Problems in communication or oral motor function are called speech and language disorders. Developmental delay is diagnosed when a child does not attain normal developmental milestones at the expected age. Speech and/or language disorders are amongst the most common developmental difficulties in childhood. Such difficulties are termed 'primary' if they have no known etiology, and 'secondary' if they are caused by another condition such as hearing and neurological impairment, and developmental, behavioral, or emotional difficulties. Objectives The objective of our study was to observe the risk factors for speech and language delay in the children presenting to the speech therapy clinic of a tertiary care hospital in a large urban center. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 children presenting at the speech therapy clinic of Lahore General Hospital from July to August 2021. A well-designed questionnaire was used to collect data about the sociodemographic profile, and biological, developmental, and environmental risk factors of speech and language delay in children. SPSS, version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) was used to enter and analyze the data. Results Parents or caretakers of a total of 98 male and 52 female children took part in this study aged 2-11 years. The average age of speech and language delay among the children was 5.65 years, 66.7% of which went to normal school while 31.3% went to special school; 66.7% were from urban areas. Around 60% had middle ear infections, and 34.7% were found to have oropharyngeal anomalies. A history of intrapartum complications was found in 68.4% of children; 46.7% of children had a history of use of a pacifier and 38% had a history of thumb sucking. Nearly 39% of children belonged to a multilingual family environment and 66.7% had a family history of screen viewing for more than two hours. Conclusion The major risk factors contributing to speech and language delay in children are family history of speech and language delay, prolonged sucking habits, male gender, oropharyngeal anomalies, hearing problems, and middle ear infections. Measures should be taken to educate people regarding risk factors, courses, and management of speech and language delay in children.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Diabetes is prevalent in the Indian population, to the extent that the diabetes burden matches that of nutritional anemia. We aimed to determine the effects of iron and vitamin B12 deficiency anemia on glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations in individuals without diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study comprises 100 patients with iron deficiency anemia, 100 with vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, and 100 healthy volunteers as a control group. Each of the first two groups was subdivided into two groups depending on the severity of anemia based on Hb levels. We treated with iron replenishment in the iron deficiency group and B12 replenishment in the B12 deficiency group for three months. We noted HbA1c levels before and after the therapy. Data were entered into the SPSS package. For comparing pre and post-therapy levels, we used the Paired 't' test. RESULTS: The mean HbA1c before treatment were 6.1% ± 0.23% and 5.5% ± 0.24%, and the values after treatment were 5.1% ± 0.14% and 4.6% ± 0.2% in severe iron deficiency anemia subgroup and mild to moderate subgroup, respectively. The mean HbA1c in the iron-deficiency anemia control group was 5.2% ± 0.2%. The mean HbA1c levels before treatment were 5.9% ± 0.3% and 5.6% ± 0.19%, and after treatment were 5.0% ± 0.15% and 4.9% ± 0.16% in severe and mild to moderate B12 deficiency anemia, respectively. The mean HbA1c in the vitamin B12 deficiency anemia control group was 5.1% ± 0.2%. CONCLUSION: HbA1c in both types of anemia subjects showed a significant decrease with appropriate therapy. Physicians should consider rechecking patient haemoglobin values and correcting a patient's anemia before determining the patient's glycemic status using HbA1c to avoid misinterpretation of their diabetes status.
