Estimated prevalence of learning disabilities over time was 8.83 percent
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, July 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of learning disabilities among youth aged 6 to 17 years remained steady from 1997 to 2021, according to a research letter published online July 10 in JAMA Pediatrics.
Yanmei Li, from Guangdong Pharmaceutical University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of learning disabilities and its long-term trend among 188,449 U.S. children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years using data from the National Health Interview Survey (1997 to 2021).
The researchers found that 8.76 percent of children had a diagnosis of a learning disability from 1997 to 2021. There was a significant difference observed in prevalence by age (12 to 17 years, 9.78 percent; 6 to 11 years, 7.86 percent), sex (female, 6.56 percent; male, 11.00 percent), race and ethnicity (Hispanic, 7.82 percent; non-Hispanic Black, 10.03 percent; non-Hispanic White, 9.25 percent; other, 6.23 percent), family income-to-poverty ratio (
“Given that learning disability is a lifelong condition and its prevalence remains high, further investigation is warranted to assess potentially modifiable risk factors and causes of learning disability,” the authors write.
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