Screening for ADHD in a Sample of Egyptian Adolescent School Students.

OBJECTIVE: To screen for ADHD in a sample of Egyptian adolescent students, and study the distribution of different subtypes of ADHD, associated comorbidities, and sociodemographic correlates. METHOD: A total of 925 adolescents were randomly selected and screened by the Conners-Wells' Adolescent Self-Report Scale-Short form (CASS:S), and potential cases were further assessed by the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime versions (K-SADS-PL). RESULTS: A total of 87 students (9.4%) had potential ADHD diagnosis with evident preponderance in boys (13.8%, n = 58) than in girls (5.8%, n = 29) with a ratio of 2:1 ( p = .000, χ2 = 17.328). The hyperactive-impulsive subtype comprised the majority of cases (54.7%, n = 41). Psychiatric comorbidity was invariably present (85.1%, n = 74). Nearly half the cases had poor academic achievement (43.7%, n = 34). Positive correlates included family history of psychiatric disorders, the order of birth, and parental disharmony. CONCLUSION: ADHD is prevalent in Egyptian adolescents and is associated with high psychiatric comorbidity and a pronounced effect on academic performance.

Cognitive functions in euthymic Egyptian patients with bipolar disorder: are they different from healthy controls?

BACKGROUND: There is marked interest to research neurocognitive functions in bipolar disorder during euthymia. Consequently we aimed to study cognitive functions in euthymic bipolar patients and factors affecting them. METHODS: It is a cross sectional case-control study of 60 euthymic bipolar patients and 30 matched healthy controls. They were subjected to: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV disorders, (SCID-I) to ascertain clinical diagnosis, Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) to validate euthymia. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) for general intellectual abilities, Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) for memory, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) for executive functions, Continuous Performance Test (CPT) for attention and impulsivity, and an information sheet gathering patient data. RESULTS: Bipolar patients had statistically significant lower mean IQ scores in all WAIS subscales (p=0.000), significantly lower memory abilities especially digit span and visual memory, higher impulsivity and inattention (p=0.000) but no significant difference in response time by CPT. They displayed significantly lower executive performance on WCST. Patients' years of education correlated positively with IQ. Hospital admission, number, type of episodes and total number of episodes affected memory functions. Hospital admission and number of hypomanic episodes correlated with attention and impulsivity. Previous hospitalization correlated with executive functions. CONCLUSIONS: Euthymic bipolar patients exhibit cognitive deficits, which correlated with clinical variables as number, type of episodes and previous hospitalization, this knowledge could help minimize cognitive impairments for future patients. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size, cross sectional design and lack of premorbid cognitive assessment limit generalization of findings.