Pattern Of Mental Retardation In Institutionalized Children In Khartoum State

With the dramatic improvement in medical care and social condition in the last century and concomitant reduction in infant mortality, mental retardation is one of the predominant causes of childhood morbidity in the developed and developing countries. There is growing realization that mentally handicapped child should be entitled to education and to develop his capabilities. This study was institute- based, done from December 1997 to December 1998. The objectives were to (a) study the degree of mental retardation in children; (b) determine the causes and (c) evaluate the impact of the mentally retarded children on their families and measure the met and unmet needs. One hundred and fifteen children in six institutes caring for mentally handicapped children in Khartoum State were examined. Their ages ranged between 36-190 months; 38 (33%) had mild mental retardation with IQ between 70-50, while 55(47.8%) had moderate mental retardation (IQ between 50-35), and 22 (19.1%) children with severe MR i.e. IQ below 35. Children aged 120-179 and 60-119 months constituted 66 (57.3%) and 25 (21.7%), respectively, with male preponderance, the majority belonging to enlightened families with good 143 socioeconomic status. Timely recognition of the mental handicap and seeking medical advice were noticeable. Out of all socio-demographic, maternal and child characteristics, birth asphyxia was the outstanding predisposing factor and was directly associated with the severity of MR (P=0.05). It was found in 19 (16.5%) cases. Infectious causes and genetic causes had equal number of cases each giving value of 4(12.1%). The most common infectious cause was meningitis (n=11(9.5%)). No cause (undetermined cause) could be found in 26 (22.6%) cases. Senior birth order (P=0.05), mother illnesses during pregnancy namely hypertension (P<0.04) and parents consanguinity (P=0.059) were weakly significant. The most common definite underline cause was Down’s syndrome (n= 32(27.8%)) where two-thirds of the cases occurred above maternal age of 30 years. Increasing maternal age is significantly associated with increasing frequency of mentally retarded children (P