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Language and reading impairments are associated with increased prevalence of non-right-handedness
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Language and reading impairments are associated with increased prevalence of non-right-handedness

Filippo Abbondanza, Philip S Dale, Carol A Wang, Marianna E Hayiou-Thomas, Umar Toseeb, Tanner S Koomar, Karen G Wigg, Yu Feng, Kaitlyn M Price, Elizabeth N Kerr, …
Child development, Vol.94(4), pp.970-984
07/2023
DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13914
PMCID: PMC10330064
PMID: 36780127
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13914View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Handedness has been studied for association with language-related disorders because of its link with language hemispheric dominance. No clear pattern has emerged, possibly because of small samples, publication bias, and heterogeneous criteria across studies. Non-right-handedness (NRH) frequency was assessed in N = 2503 cases with reading and/or language impairment and N = 4316 sex-matched controls identified from 10 distinct cohorts (age range 6-19 years old; European ethnicity) using a priori set criteria. A meta-analysis (N  = 1994) showed elevated NRH % in individuals with language/reading impairment compared with controls (OR = 1.21, CI = 1.06-1.39, p = .01). The association between reading/language impairments and NRH could result from shared pathways underlying brain lateralization, handedness, and cognitive functions.

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