Prevalence of delayed language acquisition with smartphone usage in toddlers in Erbil city-Iraq

Shayda Ziyad  Jamil; Ali Shakir  Dauod; Zaher Taher  Gardi

doi:10.56056/amj.2023.206

Authors

Shayda Ziyad Jamil Department of Family Medicine, Department of Community Medicine. College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil
Ali Shakir Dauod JBFM, Ph.D., MPH, M.B.Ch.B. Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq.
Zaher Taher Gardi C.A.B.P. M.B.Ch.B. Consultant Pediatrician, Rapareen Teaching Hospital, Erbil, Iraq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56056/amj.2023.206

Keywords:

Speech delay, Smartphone, Toddlers

Abstract

Background & Objectives: Worldwide, speech delay is the most common developmental disorder in 3 to 6-year-old children. In the normal population, many children have speech delays, of which more than one-third of them will not resolve spontaneously and need further management.The aim of the study was to find any statistical correlation of speech delay with smart phone usage .

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and data were collected from randomly selected 300 toddlers aged 12-36 months who attended two rimary health care centers in Erbil city-Iraq during the period from the 1st of January 2020 to the end of January 2021. A designed questionnaire was used to assess the speech delay in the toddlers and evaluate factors that may affect language development including (socio-echonomic state, hours of use, type of videos…etc)

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 26.7months. Despite the higher percentage of speech delay in the user group (among which the delay was more in those watching non-age-appropriate videos than age-appropriate videos with percentages of 84%, 53.2% respectively) than the nonuser group, but it was statistically non-significant. The delay was more prominent among those using smart devices for four hours or more (76.1%).the percentage of delayed speech was higher in those who watch videos with same mother language (76.9%)with lower in those with other language videos (53.1%).

Conclusion: Prevalence of speech delay was higher in toddlers using smart phone with significant increase in the percentage of delay associated with longer duration of usage.

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