The prevalence of severe mental retardation (SMR) was studied in one of the 24 suburban municipalities in Stockholm. The study area had a high proportion of non-European nationals. The study population comprised 14138 children born between 1979 and 1992 who resided in this municipality on the census day, 31 December 1995. The total prevalence of SMR was 4.5 per 1000, being 3.7 per 1000 and 5.9 per 1000 in the European and in the non-European population, respectively. The majority of cases (66%) had a definite prenatal origin. Down syndrome was the cause in 20%. Six families (10%) had at least two children with SMR. It was concluded that the prevalence was higher than in previous Swedish studies. Many cases were attributed to genetic factors. Consanguineous marriages were assumed to be a factor of importance in the distribution of aetiologies. Demographic differences between areas in Sweden must be considered when planning habilitation services.
Analysis of paediatric dental services provided at a regional hospital in Sweden. Dental treatment need in medically compromised children referred for dental consultation.
All inpatients at a regional hospital in Sweden referred for a paediatric dental consultation (n = 269) were studied retrospectively during a two-year period. The children were studied concerning their medical and oral condition and subsequent dental treatment. The most frequent medical condition among the referred children was insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (20%), asthma (9%) and epilepsy (7%). Children with asthma exhibited a significantly increased caries prevalence (p
In an epidemiological study of a county cohort of 4,138 liveborn children, surveyed at age four, 45 had disability (1.1%). The following period prevalences from birth to age four in per mille were found: motor handicap 5.1, to include cerebral palsy 4.1, myelomeningocele and hydrocephalus 0.5, and metabolic disorders 0.5; severe mental retardation 2.9, mild 1.4, subnormality 2.7; epilepsy 4.6; severe visual defect 1.4; severe auditory defect 0.7. Perinatal damage alone was likely in only three children out of 45. Two thirds had a prenatal cause or a combination of prenatal and perinatal causes. Birth asphyxia seemed to be a rare cause of motor disability and mental retardation. Prematurity per se gave a risk of spastic diplegia, but not of mental retardation. Among the mentally retarded, half were light for gestational age, and in more than half, the damage occurred prenatally.
BACKGROUND: High rates of repeat offending are common across nations that are socially and culturally different. Although psychiatric disorders are believed to be risk factors for violent reoffending, the available evidence is sparse and liable to bias. METHOD: We conducted a historical cohort study in Sweden of a selected sample of 4828 offenders given community sentences who were assessed by a psychiatrist during 1988-2001, and followed up for an average of 5 years for first violent offence, death, or emigration, using information from national registers. Hazard ratios for violent offending were calculated by Cox regression models. RESULTS: Nearly a third of the sample (n = 1506 or 31.3%) offended violently during follow-up (mean duration: 4.8 years). After adjustment for socio-demographic and criminal history variables, substance use disorders (hazard ratio 1.97, 95% CI, 1.40-2.77) and personality disorders (hazard ratio 1.71, 1.20-2.44) were significantly associated with an increased risk of violent offending. No other diagnoses were related to recidivism risk. Adding information on diagnoses of substance use and personality disorders to data recorded on age, sex, and criminal history improved only minimally the prediction of violent offending. CONCLUSION: Diagnoses of substance use and personality disorders are associated with the risk of subsequent violent offending in community offenders about as strongly as are its better documented demographic and criminal history risk factors. Despite this, assessment of such disorders in addition to demographic and criminal history factors enhances only minimally the prediction of violent offending in the community.
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders was studied in all children with mental retardation and/or motor disability in a defined geographical region over a two-year follow-up period. In the general population, the prevalence of autistic disorder was 0.09% at the end of the follow-up period -a minimum estimate, as children with average intelligence were not screened. Autism spectrum disorders were found in 19.8% of children with mental retardation, including strictly defined autistic disorder (DSM-III-R criteria) in 8.9%; the two-year follow-up yielded a higher prevalence of 11.7% with autistic disorder. Among children with cerebral palsy, 10.5% had an autism spectrum disorder. Clear co-variation was found between mental retardation, epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders in this population of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
[Causes of mental retardation in children of immigrant background. A registry study of the occurrence of consanguinity among parents of mentally retarded children at the Center for Handicapped, Glostrup hospital, county of Copenhagen]
INTRODUCTION: In the County of Copenhagen the treatment of mentally retarded (MR) children is centralised in the Center for Handicapped (CFH). The aim of this study was to elucidate whether the frequency of MR is higher in children from ethnic minorities than in the background population and whether an increase could be ascribed to inbreeding. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records of children with a non-Danish family name and where both parents were from countries other than Denmark were studied. RESULTS: A significant increase in the frequency of MR were found in the children from ethnic minorities: 16.6% of the children seen at CFH had an ethnic background compared to 14% in the background population, making a surplus of 18.5% more than expected. When a family was inbred other family members had Mr in 43.0%, whereas more family members with MR were found in only 14.2% of the families with no inbreeding. In the consanguineous families we found possible aetiological diagnoses in 21.5% of the children compared to 49% in the non-consanguineous families. In the entire group of children from ethnic minorities, we found Down's syndrome in 3.2% compared to 10.7% in Danish children with MR. DISCUSSION: There is a surplus of MR in children from ethnic minorities in the County of Copenhagen. The causes are not known, nor are aetiological factors for MR for a great part of the children. Consanguinity is likely to be a risk factor for MR, especially if it is already present in the family. This conforms with previously published data from other countries.
