RESUMEN
Aims - to identify association between maternal stress during pregnancy and the developemnt of the attention deficiency hyperactivity syndrom in young children We conducted a case-control study sequentially recruiting 200 children from the "Early detection of disease and screening" State Program, from them 100 children with ADHD diagnose, and 100 subjects, as a control group, without Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD), aged between 1 and 6 years. The children were diagnosed with ADHD according to the DSM-IV-R and a clinical interview of the parents that used the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV). We investigated the effect of cumulative exposure separately for life events considered as dependent and independent.The mother's stress level was scored from 1 to 5 on the DSM-III and DSM-III-R axis IV scales, according to the highest level of stress experienced during the pregnancy. The presence of stress factor plays an important role in the development of ADHD syndrome, but does not play a statistically significant role in which type of syndrome develops: F90.0, F90.1, F90.2: p=.258. A statistically significant relationship between ADHD diagnosis and stress degree was not confirmed at p=.503. Our data revealed that moderate-grade stress is caused by dependent causes, severe stress by independent causes, this association is statistically significant(p=.001 Cramer's V=.750). A statistically significant negative association was also found between the presence of prenatal stress and the length and weight of the baby at birth. For our study population, the risk of developing the syndrome in children of stress-relieved mothers was 2 times higher than in children of non-stressed mothers RR = 2.042. These findings show that there is an association between maternal stress during pregnancy and ADHD symptoms in offspring and support the hypothesis that prenatal stress causes offspring ADHD through a programming effect and future research should focus on exploring other prenatal factors that might be causally related to ADHD.
Asunto(s)
Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad , Atención , Trastorno por Déficit de Atención con Hiperactividad/etiología , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Recién Nacido , Madres , Embarazo , Riesgo , VitaminasRESUMEN
One function of the central executive component of the working memory model is the coordination of two simultaneous tasks (the dual-task method). The concept of a coordination function has proved effective in identifying brain damaged patients with severe behavioural problems and in discriminating the performance of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease from that of healthy elderly. A computerised version of the dual-task method was successfully used in previous laboratory studies but it is not suited to use in a practical, clinical setting. Thus a paper and pencil version of the dual-task method was devised. The present study was aimed at refining the paper and pencil dual-task method; investigating whether or not age per se affects performance; assessing its test-retest reliability and providing norms for the Georgian population. The new paper and pencil version of the dual-task was administered to 64 young and 64 middle-age and elderly participants. A new, modified, simpler version of the paper and pencil dual-task, the "Tbilisi paper and pencil motor task" was developed. This task has high test-retest reliability and correlates with the established computerised version of the task. No age or education effects were detected.
Asunto(s)
Demencia Vascular/diagnóstico , Percepción de Forma/fisiología , Trastornos de la Memoria/diagnóstico , Memoria/fisiología , Análisis y Desempeño de Tareas , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Demencia Vascular/fisiopatología , Demencia Vascular/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Trastornos de la Memoria/fisiopatología , Trastornos de la Memoria/psicología , Persona de Mediana Edad , Proyectos Piloto , Reproducibilidad de los ResultadosRESUMEN
Clinical trials in vascular cognitive impairment are in their infancy. The current narrow definitions of vascular dementia (VaD) should be broadened. VaD is characterised by a specific cognitive profile involving preserved memory with impairments in attentional and executive functioning. The present study aimed at a) Investigating whether VaD/pts showed the marked decrease in selective attentional functioning different from the healthy ageing population; b) Determining norms for the Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) task performance for the Georgian elderly population. Case-control study of selective attentional performance was conducted by forming groups of 15 VaD/pts (mean age M=65,6; SD=8,64), 64 young (aged 17-25 years with M=20,69; SD=2.97) and 64 healthy old subjects (aged 50-75 years with M=59,77; SD=7,13). Severity levels of dementia determined by MMSE. VaD/pts were administered the qualitative assessment procedure of aphasia for excluding the cases with aphasia. The selective attentional functioning was studies by the DSC task. A statistically significant difference was detected on the DSC task for the three study groups F(2,62)=87,030, p<.0001 using one-way ANOVA. Norms for the selective attention functioning were prepared for the Georgian elderly population. The study results showed that attentional disorder is a prominent characteristic of VaD. The DSC task reveals ageing effect and differentiates performance of VaD/pts from the performance of normal elderly participants.