Risk of Reading Difficulties in School-age Children Treated for Non-syndromic Craniosynostosis

ObjectiveWe assessed the prevalence of guardian-reported reading difficulties in children treated for non-syndromic craniosynostosis (NSC) and in relation to the location of the closed suture. Additionally, we determined correlations with guardian-reported neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and associations between reported reading ability, sex, timing of surgical intervention, parental education, and heredity of reading difficulties in guardians.DesignCross-sectional, prospective, population-based study.SettingTertiary hospital.ParticipantsThe cohort included 127 participants (aged 9-10 years) treated for NSC (76 sagittal, 38 metopic, 9 unicoronal, and 1 each of bicoronal, lambdoid, frontosphenoidal, and multisuture NSC).Main outcome measuresThe prevalence of guardian-reported reading difficulties was defined as a score ≥8 out of 14 points on the Short Dyslexia Scale. We determined associations between reported reading ability and reported NDDs through binomial regression analysis.ResultsThe cohort demonstrated a 14.2% risk of of guardian-reported reading difficulties, with sagittal, metopic, and unicoronal NSCs exhibiting respective prevalences of 10.5%, 18.4%, and 23.1%. NDDs were reported in 22% of participants and significantly associated with reading difficulties.ConclusionsThe results indicated that participants with sagittal NSC showed the lowest risk of reading difficulties. Additionally, we found that NDDs represent significant risk factors for guardian-reported reading difficulties across the patient cohort. These findings underscore the need for targeted screening and support, especially for patients with metopic and unicoronal NSC, to guide clinical and educational decisions.