Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Alta prevalencia de trastorno específico de lenguaje en isla Robinson Crusoe y probable efecto fundador

2008; Q16635223; Volume: 136; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4067/s0034-98872008000200007

0717-6163

Pía Villanueva, Zulema De Barbieri, Hernán Palomino, Hernán Palomino,

Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies

High prevalence of specific language impairment in Robinson Crusoe Island.A possible founder effect Background: Specific language impairment (SLI) occurs in 2% to 8% of preschool children.Major and candidate genes are probably involved.Genetic drift is a cause for the presence of high frequencies of deleterious alleles of a specific disease and the founder effect is one of its forms.Robinson Crusoe Island has 633 inhabitants and its actual population began with 8 families that repopulated the island at the end of XIXth century.Aim: To assess the frequency of specific language impairment among children living in Robinson Crusoe Island.Material and methods: All 66 children aged between 3 and 9 years living in the island, were studied.Parents were interviewed and in children, non verbal intelligence, audiometric parameters, comprehension and expression of oral language were assessed.Extended genealogies were also performed.Results: Forty children had at least one parent that was descending of founder families.Among these, 35% had SLI.Eighth five percent of SLI affected children came from the same colonizer family.Conclusions: The prevalence of SLI in Robinson Crusoe Island is higher than that reported in mainland Chile and abroad.This high prevalence, associated to a high frequency of consanguinity, supports the influence of genetic mechanisms in SLI transmission, based on a founder effect (Rev Méd Chile 2008; 136: 186-92).