Association between cesarean section and sensory integration dysfunction in preschool children: a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To study the association between cesarean section and sensory integration dysfunction (SID) in preschool children through a prospective cohort study.
Methods: Based on the multicenter mother-infant cohort established by the Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in 2012, the sensory integration functions (three dimensions: vestibular balance, tactile defensiveness, and proprioception) of 392 preschool children were evaluated by the Chinese Children Sensory Integration Capacity Development Rating Scale in 2017. Births by cesarean section were the exposure factors, and the children born by vaginal delivery were enrolled as controls. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of cesarean section with each dimension of SID.
Results: The prevalence rate of SID was 21.9% (86/392) among the preschool children, and the prevalence rates of vestibular balance disorder, tactile over-responsivity, and proprioceptive disorder were 5.9% (23/392), 5.4% (21/392), and 15.1% (59/392) respectively. After adjustment for the confounding factors including maternal age at delivery and maternal educational level and child birth situation, the cesarean section group had a significant increase in the risk of proprioceptive disorder ( RR =4.16, 95% CI : 1.41-12.30, P <0.05). The stratified analysis based on sex showed that the boys born by cesarean section had a significantly higher risk of proprioceptive disorder than those born by vaginal delivery ( RR =5.75, 95% CI : 1.26-26.40, P <0.05).
Conclusions: Cesarean section can significantly increase the risk of proprioceptive disorder in preschool children, especially in boys.