Mental development in infants with cleft lip and/or palate

Objective: Investigated mental development in infants and toddlers with cle ft lip and/or palate (CLP), Design: This was a retrospective analysis of developmental scores on qualif ied children between 4 and 36 months of age. Cross-sectional analysis inclu ded children in four age groups (6, 12, 18, and 24 months); longitudinal an alysis included children at mean age 9.1 (range = 4 to 15) months at Time 1 and 24 months (range = 16 to 36) at time 2, Participants: Cross-sectional analysis included 180 children (59% male part icipants) in four diagnostic groups (cleft lip only [CL], cleft lip and pal ate [CLP], cleft palate only [CP], and Pierre Robin), The longitudinal samp le included 85 children (64% male children) in the same diagnostic groups, Main Outcome Measures: Mental Scale (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant De velopment. Results: Mean MDIs were in the average range but decreased significantly be tween youngest and oldest groups in both cross-sectional (F(3,179) = 4.9, p < .01) and longitudinal samples (F(1,84) = 6.87, p < .01), There was a sig nificant difference among cleft types (F(3,179) = 3.5, p < .025). Infants w ith CL obtained the highest scores, and infants with Pierre Robin Sequence obtained the lowest. Perceptual-motor development in the first year of life was predictive of developmental status at age 2. Conclusions: The number of children with CLP who may be at risk for develop mental problems during the second year of life is greater than would be exp ected, Children at greatest risk may demonstrate early delays in acquisitio n of perceptual-motor skills during the first year of life.