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Comorbidities of deformational plagiocephaly in infancy: A scoping review
Lia Charalambous1, Mijna Hadders-Algra2, Edna N Yamasaki3
1Department of Health Sciences, School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Insights
Deformational plagiocephaly (DP) comorbidities remain unclear due to biased data. Weak evidence suggests potential motor and language delays in infants during their first year.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Cranial Orthotics
Background:
- Deformational plagiocephaly (DP) is a common condition in infants.
- The association between DP and comorbidities is suspected but not well-defined.
- Understanding these comorbidities is crucial for comprehensive infant care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review comorbidities associated with DP up to two years of age.
- To determine the prevalence of these comorbidities.
- To investigate if comorbidities are influenced by infant age and sex.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, EBSCO) from 1992 to April 2021.
- Data extraction focused on study characteristics, comorbidities, and assessment tools.
- Risk of bias was assessed, and high-risk studies were excluded.
Main Results:
- Twenty-seven studies met the selection criteria, but many involved tertiary clinic samples, indicating potential selection bias.
- Reported comorbidities included developmental delay, speech, auditory, visual, mandibular, and neurological impairments.
- Data limitations prevented prevalence calculation and analysis of sex-based modifying effects.
Conclusions:
- Biased data precluded definitive conclusions on comorbidities in infants with DP.
- The review highlights the critical importance of risk of bias assessment in scoping reviews.
- Further high-quality research is needed to clarify DP comorbidities.
Aim:
While deformational plagiocephaly (DP) is suspected to be associated with comorbidities, their nature and prevalence are unclear. This scoping review aims to report DP comorbidities occurring until the age of 2 years, their prevalence and whether they depend on the child's age and sex.
Methods:
Relevant studies were identified by searching the Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and EBSCO databases from 1992 to 30 April 2021. Data on study characteristics, comorbidities and assessment instruments were extracted and qualitatively synthesised. Risk of bias was assessed and studies with high risk of bias were excluded.
Results:
Studies meeting selection criteria (n = 27) often evaluated groups from tertiary clinics, implying selection bias. Studies reported on developmental delay (n = 16), limited speech production (n = 1), auditory (n = 3), visual (n = 3), mandibular (n = 3) and neurological impairments (n = 1). The data did not allow prevalence calculation or modifying effect of sex. Due to biased data, the review provided no evidence on DP comorbidities. Weak evidence suggested that in the selective samples, DP was associated with motor and language delays in the first year.
Conclusion:
Due to biased data, no evidence on comorbidity in infants with DP was available. Our study underlined the need of risk of bias assessment in scoping reviews.
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