Evaluation of elements in hair samples of children with developmental language disorder (DLD)

Recent studies have highlighted a role for trace elements and toxic metals across neurodevelopmental disorders, including developmental stuttering, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, these environmental influences have yet to be explored in relation to Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

Elemental hair composition of seven elements; zinc (⁶⁴Zn), magnesium (²⁶Mg), iron (⁵⁷Fe), potassium (³⁹K), aluminum (²⁷Al), lead (²⁰⁸Pb), and barium (¹³⁸Ba) were analyzed in hair samples from 35 children affected by DLD and 35 controls with typical language development (TLD) using both inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and inductive coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS).

The concentration of ⁶⁴Zn was significantly lower in the hair of DLD group compared to the TLD control group. All other elements showed similar levels between cases and controls. This pilot study demonstrates the utility of trace elements and toxic metals screening in relation to language disorders and the use of hair samples in such investigations.

The finding that zinc levels differed between cases and controls could represent a clinically relevant result and should be replicated in larger sample size across time. A wider battery of related elements will help to better understand the role of trace elements and toxic metals in DLD.