What causes mental retardation in children?

Once a child has intellectual disability, there will be many abnormal behaviors in life. These behaviors include many aspects. First, there are physical manifestations. For example, the child's tongue will stick out, the distance between the eyes will become wider, etc. These are actually behavioral manifestations. The child will show many behaviors that are lower than that of the age group. Then there are abnormal mental manifestations, such as the child has difficulty concentrating, etc. So what is the cause of the child's intellectual disability?

1. Genetics

Genetic factors are one of the main causes of severe mental retardation. In developed countries, mental retardation caused by genetic diseases accounts for more than half of the total number of severe mental retardation.

2. Infection and dystocia

Prenatal causes: If a pregnant woman is infected with rubella virus, influenza or other viral diseases in the first 4 months of pregnancy, it will cause great harm to the fetus and baby, and may cause congenital malformations and intellectual disabilities in the fetus.

3. Disease

Down syndrome, also known as congenital idiocy, is caused by chromosomal abnormalities. Cretinism is also known as congenital hypothyroidism. Due to abnormal development of the thyroid gland, it cannot synthesize thyroxine, which affects brain development. Phenylketonuria is caused by an enzyme defect that blocks the metabolism of ingested phenylalanine, leading to brain cell dysfunction. Cat cry syndrome is caused by a problem with the chromosomes in the body.

4. Social and family psychological factors

Early social isolation, emotional deprivation, lack of maternal love, lack of care, cultural isolation, and inappropriate teaching methods can all affect a child's intelligence level. Children from families with high socioeconomic status, stable family structure, and well-educated mothers have higher intelligence levels than those in poorer conditions. Other factors such as large families, many children, short birth intervals, twins and divorced parents all have a direct impact on children's intellectual development.

5. Geographical environment

Iodine deficiency in pregnant women is one of the important factors affecting the normal development of the fetus. Radiation, whether X-rays or other radiation, can stop embryonic development and cause deformities. The extent to which the embryo is affected by radiation depends on the type and dose of radiation, the developmental stage at the time of exposure, and the embryo's sensitivity to radiation.

The impact of noise on the fetus is mainly manifested in fetal development, fetal response and teratogenic effects.

Excessive levels of heavy metals such as lead can easily lead to infertility, spontaneous abortion, and the birth of low-birth-weight babies, and their infants will show symptoms such as developmental delay and mental retardation.

6. Nutrition

Studies have shown that malnutrition during pregnancy is one of the main causes of intrauterine fetal growth retardation. Children whose mothers are malnourished will have significantly retarded physical development, and these children often have low intelligence, behavioral disorders or other disabilities.