Perinatal risk factors for specific and non-specific speech development disorders in children

The increasing incidence of speech development disorders is one of the most significant issues in pediatrics and child neurology.

The aim of the study. To identify statistically significant differences in the influence of perinatal risk factors on the occurrence of specific and nonspecific speech development disorders.

Materials and methods. The longitudinal study included 525 children with specific and nonspecific speech development disorders (324 boys, 201 girls, born between 2005 and 2021). The group with specific speech disorders consisted of 322 children, while the group with comorbid disorders included 203 children. The authors analyzed anamnesis data related to the prenatal and perinatal periods of development, the results of neurological examinations during the first year of life, and their relationship with data on the children's motor and subsequent speech development. A comparative analysis was conducted in the groups.

Results. Statistically significant differences (higher incidence in the group with comorbid disorders) were revealed for the following risk factors: in vitro fertilization (p=0.02); threatened miscarriage (p<0.00001), especially in the third trimester (p=0.0002); infectious diseases during pregnancy (p<0.00001), especially acute respiratory viral infections (p<0.00001) and influenza (p=0.002); sexually transmitted diseases (p=0.001); antibiotic therapy in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy (p=0.04); cerebral ischemia in the neonatal period (p=0.04); perinatal damage to the central nervous system in the form of pyramidal insufficiency syndrome (p<0.00001) during the first year of life; hyperbilirubinemia (p<0.00001), including prolonged variant, with bilirubin levels above 200 µmol/L (p<0.00001).

Conclusion. Pediatricians and neurologists should be vigilant in identifying these risk factors when assessing the development of a child under three years of age, since they may be harbingers of further delays in psychomotor development, and promptly refer children for neuropsychological diagnostics for the purpose of early intervention in the habilitation process.

1. Morgan A., Bonthrone A., Liégeois F.J. Brain basis of childhood speech and language disorders: are we closer to clinically meaningful MRI markers? Curr Opin Pediatr. 2016; 28(6): 725–730. DOI: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000420

2. Yakovleva A.A. Causes of speech disorders in preschool age. Vestnik psikhofisiologii. 2021; 2: 9–17 (in Russ) DOI: 10.34985/w3351-4363-4027-x

3. Kesavan K., Devaskar S.U. Intrauterine Growth Restriction: Postnatal Monitoring and Outcomes. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2019; 66(2): 403-423. DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2018.12.009

4. Clinical guidelines - Specific developmental speech disorders in children - 2021-2022-2023 (09.21.2021). Approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (in Russ) https://cr.minzdrav.gov.ru/recomend/170_2. Ссылка активна на 06.12.2025.

5. Salley J., Crook L., Ciccia A., Haarbauer-Krupa J., Lundine J.P. Traumatic Brain Injury in Young Children: A Scoping Review. Semin Speech Lang. 2020; 41(2): 125– 142. DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1701682

6. Mukhin K.Yu., Pylaeva O.A. The formation of cognitive and mental disorders in epilepsy: the role of various factors associated with disease and treatment (a review of literature and case reports. Russkij zhurnal detskoj nevrologii. 2017; 12(3): 7–33 (in Russ). DOI:10.17650/2073-8803-2017-12-3-7-33

7. Zavadenko N.N., Kholin A.A., Zavadenko A.N., Michurina E.S. Speech and language neurodevelopmental disorders in epilepsy: pathophysiologic mechanisms and therapeutic approache. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S.S. Korsakova. 2018; 118(8): 118-1258 (in Russ). DOI: 10.17116/jnevro2018118081118

8. Mukhin K.Yu. Cognitive epileptiform disintegration: definition, diagnosis, therapy. Russkij zhurnal detskoj nevrologii. 2012; 7 (1): 3–20 (in Russ)

9. Meng Y., Best S., Amor D.J., Braden R., Morgan A.T., Goranitis I. The value of genomic testing in severe childhood speech disorders. Eur J Hum Genet. 2024; 32(4): 440-447. DOI: 10.1038/s41431-024-01534-w

10. den Hoed J., Fisher SE. Genetic pathways involved in hu-man speech disorders. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2020; 65: 103-111. DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2020.05.012

11. O'Hare A, Bremner L. Management of developmental speech and language disorders: Part 1. Arch Dis Child. 2016; 101(3): 272–277. DOI: 10.1136/archdis-child-2014-307394

12. Gamirova R.G., Gorobets E.A., Skhirtladze A.V., Prusakov V.F., Volgina S.Ya. Features of cognitive development in children of early and preschool age using gadgets. Rossiyskiy Vestnik Perinatologii i Pediatrii. 2021; 66(5): 163-167. (in Russ). DOI: 10.21508/1027-4065-2021-66-5-163-167

13. Zhang F., Chen L., Jiang K. Neuroinflammation in Bilirubin Neurotoxicity. J Integr Neurosci. 2023; 22(1): 9. DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2201009

14. Hauptman A.J., Ferrafiat V. Neuroinflammatory syndromes in children. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2023; 36(2): 87-95. DOI: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000846

15. Meyer S., Kühn D., Ptok M. Incomprehensible speech in children. Childhood apraxia of speech HNO. 2012; 60(5): 410-415. DOI: 10.1007/s00106-011-2446-1

16. McGregor K.K. How We Fail Children With Developmental Language Disorder. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2020; 51(4): 981-992. DOI: 10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00003

17. Bespyatova K.V., Perepelica S.A. Search for the causes of speech disorders in children (perinatal aspects). Vestnik Baltijskogo federal'nogo universiteta im. I. Kanta. Ser.: Filologiya, pedagogika, psihologiya. 2024; 3: 120-129 (in Russ) DOI: 10.5922/vestnikpsy-2024-3-11

18. Balázs A., Lakatos K., Harmati-Pap V., Tóth I., Kas B. The influence of temperament and perinatal factors on language development: a longitudinal study // Front Psychol. 2024; 15: 1375353. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1375353

19. Can D.D., Richards T., Kuhl P.K. Early gray-matter and white-matter concentration in infancy predict later language skills: a whole brain voxel-based morphometry study. Brain Lang. 2013; 124: 34–44. DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2012.10.007

20. Nabieva T.N. Neurological consequences of perinatal asphyxia in preschool children. Uspekhi fiziologicheskikh nauk 2009; 40(2): 72-77 (in Russ)

21. Zavadenko N.N., Suvorinova N.Yu. Speech development delays in children: causes, diagnosis and treatment. Russkij medicinskij zhurnal. 2016; 6: 362–366 (in Russ)