Memory and language impairments are associated with anxiety disorder severity in childhood
Trends psychiatry psychother. (Impr.)
; 42(2): 161-170, Apr.-June 2020. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: biblio-1139815
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Abstract Introduction Children with anxiety disorders have been suggested to possess deficits in verbal fluency, shifting and attention, with inconsistent results regarding working memory and its subcomponents. This study extends previous findings by analyzing the performance of children with anxiety disorders in a wide range of neuropsychological functions. Methods We evaluated 54 children with a primary diagnosis of an anxiety disorder according to diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) using subtests of a neuropsychological battery. The severity of anxiety disorders was assessed using the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS). We calculated the frequency of neuropsychological impairments (-1.5 standard deviation of the normative sample). Comparisons between groups were performed based on the severity of anxiety symptoms, as well as in the presence of one vs. more diagnoses of anxiety disorder. Results We found higher impairment in visuospatial working memory (23.1%), semantic memory (27.8%), oral language (35.4%) and word writing (44.4%) in anxious children. Moreover, children with higher anxiety severity presented lower performance in visuospatial working memory, inferential processing, word reading, writing comprehension, copied writing, and semantic verbal fluency (d = 0.49 to 0.96 [Cohen's d]). The higher the number of anxiety diagnoses, the lower the performance in episodic memory and oral and written language (d = 0.56 to 0.77). Conclusion Our data suggested the presence of memory (visuospatial working memory and semantic memory) and language deficits (oral and writing) in some children with an anxiety disorder. Severity and number of anxiety diagnoses were associated with lower performance in memory and language domains in childhood.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
LILACS
Main subject:
Anxiety Disorders
/
Cognitive Dysfunction
/
Language Disorders
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Memory Disorders
Type of study:
Practice guideline
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Trends psychiatry psychother. (Impr.)
Journal subject:
Psychiatry
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
UFRGS/BR
/
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul/BR