Prevalence of Psychiatric Diagnoses in Pediatric Chiari Malformation Type 1

This cross-sectional study investigates the prevalence and risks for psychiatric diagnoses in a large cohort of children with Chiari malformation type 1 (CM1) presenting for neurosurgical evaluation. Children between the ages of 6 and 17 years who were evaluated and diagnosed with CM1 at a neurosurgery clinic were identified. Eighty-six participants were recruited for this study with an average age of 11 years. Parents of participants completed a pediatric medical history questionnaire and a semistructured interview regarding the child ’s psychiatric, developmental, medical, and family history. A review of medical records was completed to complement interview data. Elevated rates of psychiatric diagnoses, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (22.1%), anxiety (12.8%), and depression (10.5%), were identified i n the study population when compared to published norms in the general population documented by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013. In addition, elevated rates of psychiatric diagnoses in first-degree relatives of study participants were also identified. A 2-step binary logistic regression analysis revealed that maternal complications during pregnancy (Wald = 6.52,p = 0.01) increased the risk of a psychiatric diagnosis 9-fold. Premature birth (Wald = 6.79,p = 0.01) also significantly predicted a psychiatric diagnosis amongst participants. The current findings suggest a high prevalence of psychiatric illness in children with CM1. Pregnancy ...
Source: Pediatric Neurosurgery - Category: Neurosurgery Source Type: research