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Mild mental retardation in schoolchildren in a Swedish suburban municipality: prevalence and diagnostic aspects
Author(s) -
Fernell E
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14091.x
Subject(s) - medicine , socioeconomic status , pediatrics , population , demography , environmental health , sociology
The prevalence of mild mental retardation (MMR) (IQ 50–72) was investigated in a Swedish suburban municipality with special demographic characteristics. The study population consisted of the 6397 children aged 9–15 years residing in the municipality on December 31, 1994. A total of 82 children fulfilled psychometric and adaptive criteria of MMR, corresponding to a prevalence of 12.8/1000. The prevalence was higher than that reported in previous Swedish and Finnish studies using similar case‐finding methods. This can probably be explained by the lower socioeconomic status in the municipality studied and by the fact that testing is now more acceptable. Nearly 90% of the MMR children had symptoms in their preschool years, mainly motor, speech/language deviations and a relative inability to perform certain tasks. These symptoms also occur in children with minimal brain dysfunction/deficits in attention, motor control and perception which should be taken into consideration when selecting screening tests.