ABSTRACT
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WAIS-R NI) provides methods to uniformly interpret atypical responses or response patterns. To date, little research has examined the primary population for which the supplemental measures of the WAIS-R NI were intended. The purpose of the present study was to compare the performance of individuals with brain injuries versus healthy adults on the supplemental measures of the WAIS-R NI. Forty-nine healthy adults and 45 individuals with brain injuries were tested. MANOVA indicated a significant main effect for group membership and the results suggest the WAIS-R NI supplemental measures differentiate individuals with brain injuries from healthy adults.
Subject(s)
Brain Injuries/diagnosis , Wechsler Scales , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Brain Injuries/psychology , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
We examined the relationship between low birth weight (LBW) (< or = 2500 g) and specific neurocognitive abilities at 6 years of age in a large-scale nonconcurrent prospective study. In 1990-1992, we randomly selected and evaluated LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) children from the 1983-1985 newborn lists of two major hospitals in southeast Michigan, one serving an urban and the other a suburban population. LBW children (n = 473) scored significantly lower than NBW children (n = 350) on tests measuring language, spatial, fine motor, tactile, and attention abilities, controlling for population site, race, maternal IQ, and education. Gradient relationships were observed across levels of LBW with language, spatial, tactile, and attention tests. Exploratory analysis, using general additive models, revealed that test performance varied within birth weight levels and that performance continued to improve with increased birth weight well above 3000 g. Follow-up assessments as the children mature will shed light on the persistence of these associations and their implications for learning disorders.
Subject(s)
Birth Weight/physiology , Cognition/physiology , Infant, Low Birth Weight , Attention/physiology , Child , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Language Tests , Memory/physiology , Neuropsychological Tests , Prospective Studies , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Regression Analysis , Socioeconomic Factors , Space Perception/physiology , Suburban Population , Urban Population , Wechsler ScalesABSTRACT
The study examined the association between low birth weight (LBW) (< or = 2,500 g) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in two socioeconomically disparate populations. LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) children from the 1983 to 1985 newborn lists of an urban and a suburban hospital in Southeast Michigan were randomly selected. A total of 823 children, 473 LBW and 350 NBW, participated. Data were gathered in 1990 to 1992, when the children were 6 to 7 years of age. The National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for children-Parent version (DISC-P) was used to elicit information on DSM-III-R diagnoses of simple phobia, overanxious, separation anxiety, oppositional defiant, and ADHD. Teachers' ratings of behavior problems were obtained. LBW was associated with ADHD but not with childhood anxiety disorders or oppositional defiant disorder. The association was stronger in the urban than in the suburban population. Data from teachers' ratings revealed an association between LBW and attention problems. The prognostic significance of the observed psychopathology at 6 years of age requires follow-up assessment as the children mature.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/epidemiology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/etiology , Infant, Low Birth Weight/psychology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Case-Control Studies , Child , Cohort Studies , Comorbidity , Confidence Intervals , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Infant, Low Birth Weight/growth & development , Infant, Newborn , Intelligence , Male , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Disorders/etiology , Michigan/epidemiology , Odds Ratio , Risk , Socioeconomic Factors , Urban HealthABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To test for a suspected adverse effect of low birth weight (< or = 2500 g) on IQ at age 6 years in two socioeconomically disparate populations. DESIGN: Nonconcurrent prospective study. SETTING: An urban, predominantly disadvantaged population and a suburban middle-class population in southeastern Michigan. PARTICIPANTS: Low-birth-weight (N = 473) and normal-birth-weight (N = 350) subjects, randomly selected from the 1983 through the 1985 newborn lists of two major hospitals, one serving an urban and the other a suburban population. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised to measure IQ. RESULTS: The mean full-scale IQ of low-birth-weight children was 4.9 points lower than that of normal-birth-weight children, controlling for population site, maternal IQ, maternal education, and race (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.0 to 6.8). There was no evidence of low-birth-weight interaction with population site, and the same IQ difference was detected in both populations. In the urban population, low birth weight was associated with an increased risk for IQ below 85 (odds ratio, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3 to 3.7). In the suburban population, low birth weight was associated with an increased risk for IQ below 100 (odds ratio, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.4). A gradient relationship with full-scale IQ was observed, with the largest deficit in those born weighing 1500 g or less, an intermediate deficit in those born weighing 1501 through 2000 g, and the least pronounced deficit in those born weighing 2001 through 2500 g. CONCLUSIONS: The overall effect of low birth weight represents an increase of approximately 10% of low-birth-weight children with an IQ of more than 1 SD below the population's mean. Children born weighing 2000 g or less bore the major burden of the IQ deficits.
