Behavioral Disorders of Preschool Children With Non-Syndromic Craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis is the premature closure of one or more cranial sutures that results in an abnormal skull shape. This condition has been associated with cognitive problems of different levels of severity in all developmental stages in a substantial percentage of children. However, the study of behavioral problems related to this condition has been scarce. The objective of this study was to determine if a sample of Mexican preschoolers with non-syndromic craniosynostosis had more clinical and adaptive behavioral problems than those of their peers. We assessed the behavior of 24 participants between 3 and 5 years of age with non-syndromic craniosynostosis as well as those of 27 healthy children. We used the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC) parent's questionnaire. There were no significant differences between groups for any of the BASC scales, although a small proportion of children from both groups had high, clinically significant, scores on some of the Clinical, Adaptive and Global scales. While the relationship between craniosynostosis and behavioral problems is not clear, it is important to continue to assess conduct at several ages to detect possible problems that could be overlooked by the developmental characteristics during the preschool stage.