Risk of stuttering onset and persistence linked to early language skills: Results from the Generation R Study

Although linguistic factors are considered relevant to stuttering onset and its developmental course, the exact relationship between language and childhood stuttering remains unclear. Low, average and above-average expressive and receptive language skills have been associated with childhood stuttering. This study aimed to evaluate whether early language skills in children are associated with the risk of stuttering onset and persistence, using population-level data.

In a prospective, population-based cohort, we analyzed early-childhood language data from 123 nine-year-old with a history of stuttering (22 persistent, 101 recovered) and 2819 children without such a history. Expressive and receptive language skills were assessed at five time points using parental-reported questionnaires between 18 and 48 months of age. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.

Higher expressive and receptive language skills at 24 months were significantly associated with a decreased risk of stuttering (Odds Ratio (OR), 0.78, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI) [0.65, 0.93], p-value < 0.01). Language assessments at 18, 30, 36 and 48 months showed no evidence of any association with stuttering (persistence).

These findings support previous studies indicating that lower language skills in early childhood add to the risk of stuttering onset, but not with the persistence of stuttering. This association does not imply causality, it only demonstrates the association. Therefore, clinicians are advised to screen language skills in pre-school children referred shortly after stuttering onset. Early language assessment may also reveal concomitant, clinically relevant language disorders, which are more prevalent in children already identified with one developmental concern.