[Minor physical anomalies in children with hearing impairment]

The prevalence of minor physical anomalies was studied on a sample of 116 children with idiopathic hearing impairment (66 boys and 50 girls). The control group consisted of 246 children with normal hearing (123 boys and 123 girls) aged from 8 to 12 years. The number of minor anomalies found per child (W1) was compared and the sum of the weighted scores according to Waldrop (W2) in children with normal hearing (CNH) and children with impaired hearing (CIH). A higher minor physical anomalies score was determined per child in the CIH group. In the CNH group there were 4 or more (33.6%) with multiple anomalies, while in the CNH group there were only 7.7% with four or more anomalies. A high score (W2) of five or more anomalies was determined in 18.9% of children in the CIH group and not one subject in the control group. Differences between the CIH and CNH groups for the mean score W1 and W2 were highly significant. The mean score W1 for CIH was 2.90 and for CNH 1.70. The mean score W2 for CIH was 2.93 and for CNH 1.46. According to the obtained results etiological factors probably had a parallel effect in CIH during early development, which lead to physical and hearing impairment. The high incidence found of multiple minor anomalies in CIH suggests a significant role of genetic factors in the aetiology of the basic disorder in the group of analysed children.