61 Introduction It has been estimated that 85.0% of the world’s disabled children under 15 years of age live in developing coun- tries. 1 The burden of childhood disability as a public health problem in these areas of the world remains rela- tively unrecognised. There is a major information gap in the developing world on the magnitude of the problem and possible implicated risk factors. 2–4 Saudi Arabia has undergone rapid economic devel- opment in the last decades which has been reflected in improved health care services and a decrease in child mortality, 5 such that disabled children have been more likely to survive in greater numbers and come much more to the fore. Studies on the subject have been per- formed in the Kingdom as investigations of single types of childhood disability, but most of these were unpublished or did not use a uniform definition. A recent national survey in the Kingdom reported the prevalence of major disabilities as around 4.0% of the population. 5 Epidemiological studies tackling the main risk factors specific to our community are still lagging behind. Analysing the problem of disability in the Kingdom could reflect the potential risk factors that are specific to its traditions and beliefs. This has inspired us to perform this study in order to identify the possible maternal risk factors present in our society and observe the impact of these risk factors on childhood disability. Materials and methods Study population and data collection Four cohorts were considered in this study. The first three cohorts were auditory, visually and mentally dis- abled children. Data on disabled children were col- © Blackwell Science Ltd. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2002, 16, 61–66 An epidemiological study of childhood disability in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Sherine Shawky, Bahaa Abalkhail and Nadia Soliman Department of Community Medicine and Primary Heath Care, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Correspondence: Dr Sherine Shawky, MD, DrPH, PO Box 115, Jeddah 21411-KSA. E-mail: shshawky@hotmail.com Summary Childhood disability is a major health problem that is pronounced in developing coun- tries. The objectives of this study were to identify the maternal risk factors present in our society and their impact on acquiring a disabled child. Data were collected from the six governmental rehabilitation institutes and a sample of normal non-disabled school children in Jeddah City. Information on sociodemographic factors and mater- nal risk factors was collected by in-person interview and copied from the children’s institute records. Logistic regression models were fitted to calculate the adjusted odds ratios in order to demonstrate the impact for the various maternal risk factors on having a disabled child. Our results have shown that certain modifiable maternal risk factors affecting child health still exist in our community, such as early and late-age marriage and childbearing, as well as low education, unemployment, multiparity and consanguineous marriages. All these risks were shown to put the mother at higher risk of having an auditory disabled child. Also, older-age childbearing (≥30 years), low education level and multiparity were the maternal risk factors identified that influ- enced the risk of visual disability in children. Similar maternal risk factors, in addi- tion to unemployment, were more observed among mothers of mentally disabled children. A huge effort is required to discourage the potential risk factors in our com- munity that influence child health.