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. 2012 Aug;21(3):194-203.

Mental health problems in children with prader-willi syndrome

Norbert Skokauskas  1 , Eileen Sweeny, Judith Meehan, Louise Gallagher
Affiliations

Mental health problems in children with prader-willi syndrome

Norbert Skokauskas et al. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2012 Aug.

Abstract
in English, French

Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetically determined neurodevelopmental disorder, which occurs in approximately one in 22000 births.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate psychiatric characteristics of children diagnosed with PWS compared with an age-, gender- and IQ-matched control group. The parents of children with PWS were assessed for psychological distress in comparison to the parents of the control group. Methodological limitations identified in previous studies were addressed in the present study.

Methods: Psychiatric problems were evaluated in a sample of children with genetically confirmed PWS and an age- and IQ-matched control group using the Child Behaviour Checklist 6-18. Parental psychological distress for both groups was evaluated with the Brief Symptom Inventory.

Results: Children with PWS had more severe somatic, social, and thought problems, and were more withdrawn-depressed in comparison to controls. Borderline difficulties were detected for the affective, somatic, and attention deficit-hyperactivity CBCL DSM-orientated subscales in the PWS group. Parents of PWS children, in comparison to controls, had more somatization, phobic anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and anxiety problems.

Conclusions: PWS represents a complex psychological disorder with multiple areas of disturbances.

Contexte:: Le syndrome Prader-Willi (SPW) et un trouble neurodéveloppemental génétique qui touche environ un enfant sur 22 000.

Objectif:: Étudier les caractéristiques psychiatriques d’enfants ayant reçu un diagnostic de SPW en les comparant à un groupe témoin d’enfants appariés pour l’âge, le et le QI. La détresse psychologique des parents dont les enfants souffraient du SPW a été comparée à celle des parents des enfants du groupe témoin. L’étude a tenu compte des limites méthodologiques constatées dans les études précédentes.

Méthodologie:: Les problèmes psychiatriques des enfants des deux groupes ont été analysés au moyen de la Liste de contrôle du comportement de l’enfant âgé de 6 à 18 ans. La détresse psychologique des parents des deux groupes a été évaluée au moyen de l’Inventaire des symptômes— version courte. Résultats: Les enfants qui souffrent du SPW ont de plus grandes difficultés au niveau somatique, social et conceptuel, et sont plus repliés sur eux-mêmes ou déprimés que les enfants du groupe témoin. Les sous-échelles État affectif, Somatisation et Déficit d’attention avec hyperactivité basées sur le DSM ont fait apparaître des difficultés à la limite de la pathologie. Les parents des enfants atteints du SPW avaient plus de symptômes somatiques, d’anxiété phobique, de symptômes obsessionnels-compulsifs et de problèmes anxieux que ceux du groupe témoin.

Conclusion:: Le SPW est un trouble psychologique complexe qui entraîne des perturbations à divers niveaux.

Keywords: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Prader-Willi Syndrome; anxiety disorders; comorbidity; depression.

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