Psychological and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Cleft Lip and Palate

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Developmental psychology
• Public health

Background:

• Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) is a congenital condition associated with increased risks for psychological and neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Understanding the specific comorbidities across different CL/P subtypes is essential for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the prevalence of psychological and neurodevelopmental comorbidities in various subtypes of CL/P.
• To compare comorbidity rates in CL/P patients with a control cohort.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of the TriNetX database.
• Inclusion of 24,557 patients with different CL/P subtypes (CP, UCLP, BCLP, UCL, BCL).
• Comparison with 20,521,361 patients without CL/P.

Main Results:

• Patients with cleft palate (CP) showed significantly higher rates of ADHD, intellectual disability, ASD, and developmental disorders compared to other cleft subtypes.
• Unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) patients had higher rates of ASD, anxiety, and depression than bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) patients.
• Overall, CL/P patients exhibited higher rates of anxiety, depression, intellectual disability, and developmental disorders compared to controls, with CP showing the most pronounced increase.

Conclusions:

• Psychological and neurodevelopmental outcomes vary significantly across CL/P subtypes.
• Cleft palate is associated with a higher burden of psychological and neurodevelopmental comorbidities.
• The findings highlight the necessity of psychosocial and developmental screening and multidisciplinary care for CL/P patients.