Polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation can improve specific language impairment in preschool children: a pilot study

Polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation can improve specific language impairment in preschool children: a pilot study

BackgroundSpeech and language are one of the higher cognitive brain functions. Language delay is one of the major concerns of child health in Egypt. Speech therapy is the standard management in language delay.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the potential role of dietary supplementation with polyuns...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Egyptian Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 1 - 4
Main Authors: Yasseen, Dalia G, Waly, Nermien E, Abdulghani, Khaled O
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Mumbai Springer Nature B.V 07-02-2020
SpringerOpen
Subjects:
Fatty acids
Language disorders
Language impairment
Preschool children
PUFA
Speech therapy
Egypt
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:BackgroundSpeech and language are one of the higher cognitive brain functions. Language delay is one of the major concerns of child health in Egypt. Speech therapy is the standard management in language delay.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the potential role of dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in improving specific language impairment.Subjects and methodsA total of 220 children (ages 3–4) were included in this study at the Phonetics Department, Helwan School of Medicine, Egypt, during the period from 2015 to 2018. Children received comprehensive neurological examination and intelligence quotient (IQ) test to exclude the other causes of language delay. Language evaluation was performed using the Arabic language test. They either received family counseling, speech therapy (45 min; 3 times a week for 16 weeks), and PUFA supplementation 500 mg twice daily (group A) or only counseling and speech therapy (group B). Language quotient (LQ) was calculated before and after treatment.ResultsOur results show that LQ significantly improved in group A compared with group B (p < 0.004).ConclusionDietary supplementation with PUFA has a beneficial role in the management of specific language impairment along with speech therapy.
ISSN:1110-1083
1687-8329
DOI:10.1186/s41983-020-0158-8