Psychopathology in Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool Children with Nonsyndromic Clefts of the Lip and/or Palate: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess psychopathology and maternal interactions in infants, toddlers, and preschool children with nonsyndromic clefts of the lip and/or palate (NSCLP) and association of psychopathology with cleft-related factors and maternal interactions.

Design: Twenty-six children from 4 to 72 months of age with NSCLP, who were attending the Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Department were included as the case group. Fifty-two healthy children who were matched on age and sex with the case group were taken as controls. Children were assessed in aspects of psychiatric diagnosis, articulation, and development.

Results: Speech and language disorders (SLD) ( P <0.001), disorders of affect (DA) ( P =0.005), feeding behavior disorder ( P =0.002), sleep-behavior disorder (SBD) ( P =0.038), and disordered mother-child relationship ( P <0.001) were more prevalent in children with NSCLP. Dental alignment ( P =0.024), number of operations ( P =0.006), and type of operations ( P =0.012) were associated with DA. The children in the case group, who had disordered relationship with their mothers had significantly more SLD ( P =0.036) and SBD ( P =0.039).

Conclusions: Children with NSCLP are at risk of developing psychopathology, especially SLD and DA. Maternal interactions and the above cleft-related factors and may be the target of interventions to prevent and treat psychiatric disorders in these children.