Abstract
Objectives
Atopic diseases and adverse childhood experiences are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders including developmental stuttering. This study examined the associations between these factors and lifetime prevalence, age of onset, and persistence of developmental stuttering.
Methods
Data from 4874 participants (2264 men and 2610 women) from the PsyCoLaus study were used. Prevalence, age of onset, and persistence of stuttering were investigated through univariate, bivariate, and regression analyses.
Results
Regression analyses indicated that hay fever, gender, familial aggregation, and fear of punishment by parents were associated with stuttering onset in childhood with odds ratios (OR) of 2–3. Hay fever was associated with an earlier onset of stuttering (difference of 1.5 years, p = .001). Moreover, early onset of stuttering (OR = 0.8, p = .009) and hay fever (OR = 9.2, p = .002) predicted whether stuttering persisted.
Conclusions
This study suggests that immunological imbalances related to atopic diseases such as hay fever and adverse childhood experiences are also related to stuttering. The importance of this link is emphasized by the fact that hay fever is also associated with age of onset and persistence of stuttering.
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Funding
The PsyCoLaus study is supported by research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 3200B0–105993, 3200B0-118308, 33CSCO-122661, 33CS30-139468, and 33CS30-148401).
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VAG: drafted the analysis design, performed the data analyses, and wrote the paper. SR: collaborated with the analysis design, assisted with the data analyses and the writing. MM: assisted with the data analyses and the writing. RvK: collaborated with the study design, the analysis design, and the writing. ES: collaborated with the design and the writing. EC: assisted in the PsyCoLaus study design, acquired the data, and collaborated in the writing. MPFS: assisted in the PsyCoLaus study design, acquired the data, and collaborated in the writing. CV: designed the PsyCoLaus study, acquired the data, and collaborated in the writing. MP: designed the PsyCoLaus study and collaborated in the writing. PH: drafted the analysis design and collaborated in the writing. All authors approved the final manuscript.
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The CoLaus|PsyCoLaus study was approved by University of Lausanne’s Institutional Ethics Committee (Preisig et al. 2009). All participants received a detailed description of the goals, procedures, and funding of the study and signed a written informed consent form. All procedures involved in this report comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.
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Ajdacic-Gross, V., Rodgers, S., Müller, M. et al. Hay Fever is Associated with Prevalence, Age of Onset and Persistence of Stuttering. Adv Neurodev Disord 4, 67–73 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-019-00143-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-019-00143-9