Language Development in Preschool Children Living with Chronic Health Conditions: A Cohort Study

To investigate whether the presence of childhood chronic conditions affect the early stages of language development.

The study is based on data of three-year-old (n = 8821) and five-year-old (n = 8564) children from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal cohort study. A series of multilinear regression models were used to analyze the contribution of child health on caregiver perception of language development and children's vocabulary development.

A negative association between childhood chronic health and language development was identified at age 3 and age 5 when caregiver report measures were used, and at age 5 when standardized vocabulary scores were used. Teacher assessment mirrored these findings.

Childhood chronic health conditions correlate negatively with language development and this relationship is apparent from the age of 3. In order to avoid subsequent issues at school entry age and beyond and also to ensure that children can take an active role in therapeutic communication with their health care teams, it is important to monitor and intervene when necessary. The findings also promote the use of caregiver report when ascertaining the relationship between childhood health and language development in young children.