Allergies, asthma, and sleep problems in adults who stutter

PURPOSE

Previous studies have suggested that allergies, asthma, and sleep problems are prevalent in those who stutter. This study analyzed similar data for a broad age group of adults who stutter (AWS).

METHOD

Data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. Adults from 18 to 60 + years of age reported a) to have stuttered, b) to have had any allergy, asthma, or acid reflux, c) to have had insomnia/trouble sleeping and daytime negative consequences, and d) average sleeping hours per day in the past 12 months.

RESULTS

The sample included 320 AWS and 33,043 controls. AWS were at greater odds of respiratory, food, and skin allergies (OR = 2.38, 2.36, and 2.09, respectively), as well as asthma and acid reflux (OR = 2.30 and 2.01, respectively) than controls. AWS were at greater odds of insomnia/trouble sleeping, oversleeping, excessive sleepiness, and fatigue than controls (OR = 2.11, 1.71, 2.67, and 1.81, respectively). The subgroup of AWS with no allergy, asthma, and acid reflux were also at greater odds of insomnia/trouble sleeping and excessive sleepiness than controls (OR = 2.13 and 3.11, respectively). Differences were found in specific age groups: younger/middle-aged AWS reported more allergies, asthma, and acid reflux than controls, while older AWS did not; younger/middle-aged AWS reported more insomnia/trouble sleeping than controls, while older AWS reported more oversleeping.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings on younger and middle-aged AWS are similar to previous ones on children and adolescents who stutter. Differences regarding younger/middle-aged and older AWS could be consequence of environmental variables.

Diversity of Research Participant Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in Communication Sciences and Disorders: A Systematic Review and Quantitative Synthesis of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Publications in 2020

Purpose

One manifestation of systemic inequities in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) is the chronic underreporting and underrepresentation of sex, gender, race, and ethnicity in research. The present study characterized recent demographic reporting practices and representation of participants across CSD research.

Methods

We systematically reviewed and extracted key reporting and participant data from empirical studies conducted in the United States (US) with human participants published in the year 2020 in journals by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA; k = 407 articles comprising a total n = 80,058 research participants, search completed November 2021). Sex, gender, race, and ethnicity were operationalized per National Institutes of Health guidelines (National Institutes of Health, 2015a, 2015b).

Results

Sex or gender was reported in 85.5% of included studies; race was reported in 33.7%; and ethnicity was reported in 13.8%. Sex and gender were clearly differentiated in 3.4% of relevant studies. Where reported, median proportions for race and ethnicity were significantly different from the US population, with underrepresentation noted for all non-White racial groups and Hispanic participants. Moreover, 64.7% of studies that reported sex or gender and 67.2% of studies that reported race or ethnicity did not consider these respective variables in analyses or discussion.

Conclusion

At present, research published in ASHA journals frequently fails to report key demographic data summarizing the characteristics of participants. Moreover, apparent gaps in representation of minoritized racial and ethnic groups threaten the external validity of CSD research and broader health care equity endeavors in the US. Although our study is limited to a single year and publisher, our results point to several steps for readers that may bring greater accountability, consistency, and diversity to the discipline.

Risk of sleep problems in a clinical sample of children who stutter

PURPOSE

Previous studies have shown increased prevalence of sleep problems among people who stutter. However, there is a lack of knowledge about what these sleep problems may specifically be.

METHOD

Fifty children who stutter (CWS) from 6;0 to 12;9 years of age and 50 age- and gender-matched controls participated in this study. Parents did not report coexisting conditions, excepting stuttering and/or sleep problems. Sleep problems were investigated using a standardized questionnaire answered by parents. The questionnaire shows cut-off scores to identify the risk of sleep problems as a whole and on each one of the six subscales (i.e., disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep; sleep breathing disorders; disorders of arousal; sleep-wake transition disorders; disorders of excessive somnolence; and sleep hyperhidrosis). Scores above the cut-off are suggestive of sleep problems.

RESULTS

Twenty-one CWS scored higher than the cut-off on the sleep questionnaire compared to only two controls (p < 0.00001). Specifically, CWS scored higher than controls in disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep, sleep-wake transition disorders (especially jerking, sleep talking, and bruxism), and disorders of excessive somnolence (p < 0.0083, corrected for multiple comparisons).

DISCUSSION

Compared to controls, CWS are at greater risk for sleep problems, which are not consequences of coexisting disorders. Present findings confirm and expand current knowledge about sleep problems in CWS. Directionality possibilities and clinical implications are discussed.

Bilingualism as a risk factor for false reports of stuttering in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K:2011)

Introduction

Bilingualism has historically been claimed to be a risk factor for developmental stuttering. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) ostensibly contains evidence to test that claim.

Methods

We analyze data from monolingual and bilingual children in Kindergarten through fifth grade in the ECLS-K:2011.

Results and discussion

The prevalence, male/female ratio, and onset and recovery of reported stuttering in the ECLS are inconsistent with widely-accepted clinical reports of stuttering. We argue that the reported figures may be misleading. We discuss some factors that may inflate the reported prevalence, including a lack of awareness of the difference between stuttering vs. normal disfluencies, and the informal usage of the word "stuttering" on the part of teachers and parents to describe typical disfluencies.

Sleep duration, insomnia, and stuttering: The relationship in adolescents and young adults

PURPOSE

Evidence of a linkage between neurodevelopmental stuttering and sleep difficulties has been suggested in studies involving children and adolescents. To further examine the relationship between stuttering and sleep, the current study explored both hours of sleep and insomnia in a longitudinal sample of adolescents and young adults living with stuttering.

METHOD

The data for this study came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nationally representative survey study following 13,564 US respondents over the course of 20 years. In each of the five survey waves, respondents noted their average hours of sleep. In addition, Wave IV, respondents indicated whether they suffered from insomnia (i.e., difficulty falling or staying asleep). Respondents who indicated stuttering at ages 18-26 (Wave III) and 24-32 (Wave IV) are considered as those with persistent stuttering-the focus of this analysis. Regression analysis assessed the association between stuttering, hours of sleep and insomnia controlling for sex, age, race, education and other demographic characteristics.

RESULTS

The sample included 261 participants (1.7% of total respondents) who identified themselves as people who stutter, comprised of 169 males and 92 females. Compared to their fluent counterparts, individuals who stutter reported to sleep, on average, 20 min less per night. Additionally, 15% of those who stutter reported difficulties falling or staying asleep almost every day or every day, which is twice as likely as controls. Results were robust to demographic characteristics and co-occurring conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Speech-language pathologists should be aware of the association between stuttering and insomnia, as well as the lower average hours of sleep among adolescents and young adults who stutter. The possibility that lower sleep duration and insomnia may affect stuttering daily variability and impair improvement from stuttering are discussed.