Objective: This research studied the relationship between associated congenital malformations and the mental and psychomotor development of children with clefts.
Design: The study was cross-sectional.
Setting: The study was conducted in a university hospital for children.
Participants: The sample consisted of 148 children with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both.
Main outcome measures: The children were assessed by a clinical geneticist at the age of 18 months. The children's level of development was determined by means of the Dutch version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.
Results: One-third of the total sample had associated malformations. Children with an isolated cleft lip showed the least. Children with an isolated cleft palate showed the highest percentage of minor malformations that are minor yet possibly worrisome. The total group achieved a mean developmental index (DI) on the mental scale of 98.9 with SD of 20.9. The motor scale showed a mean DI of 104.9 and SD of 24.7. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that on the mental scale, the three main effects (diagnosis, evaluation, and sex) were significant at the 5% level. On the motor scale, only the main effect "evaluation" was significant.
Conclusions: This study demonstrated that children with associated congenital malformations might be disadvantaged with respect to their development. These malformations occurred most frequently with the cleft lip and palate and cleft palate only subgroups. More research, especially concerning the cleft palate only subgroup is needed because they are most at risk.