23 May 2023
Molly Jacobs, MS, PhD (University of Florida) and co-author Patrick Briley, MS, PhD (East Carolina University) recently published a study analyzing a group of young adults with stuttering, finding that there is a statistically higher prevalence of asthma, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, and depression among them compared to young adults without stuttering.
The article, “Co-Occurring Conditions Among Young Adults Who Stutter” was recently issued in the Journal of Speech Pathology and Therapy. This population-based study used a nationally representative sample of young adults aged 24 to 32 years.
Jacobs, an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy, built upon a previous paper with similar findings which indicated that a higher prevalence of these conditions – asthma, ADD/ADHD, anxiety and depression – were also co-occurring in children who stuttered compared to children without stuttering.
“This [most recent] analysis [of young adults] extends these previous findings [among children] to indicate the persistence of these disparities over the life course,” Jacobs suggests in response to the correlation.
For more information, please see full article from the Journal of Speech Pathology & Therapy here.