Epidemiological data of mentally disabled enrolled in Londrinense Institute Of Education for Special Children

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze students with disabilities enrolled in a mental institution Londrina-Pr. Data were obtained from information contained in medical records of 157 students and interviews with the researchers and the responsible for each student registered in 2010. By means of a descriptive study, we evaluated the prevalence of the main pathologies that cause mental deficiency, in relation to gender, parental age at conception, neonatal weight, family history, length of the breast-feeding period, use of drugs, alcohol and prescription drugs, as well as the type of conception, childbirth and length of the gestation period. For the statistical analysis of the data was used chi-square test after Yates correction. The pathologies found were: Mental Retardation - isolated cases, 29.3%; Cerebral Palsy, 25.5%; Delayed Psycho-Motor-Development, 24.2%; Down’s Syndrome, 13.4%; and other Genetic Syndromes, 7.6%. The variables that demonstrated greater differences were: cesarean childbirth (58%) with a greater prevalence in comparison to normal childbirth (38%) and the percentage of cases with family history at 50%. The distribution of pathologies associated with mental deficiency in the population studied was similar to other studies in different populations. However, unlike other studies, we observed a higher frequency of cesarean sections and family history. In conclusion, it is hoped that the information reported in this paper result in contribution to the health care programs for mentally disabled as well as its inclusion within civil society.