(Press-News.org) Children experiencing cognitive problems such as low attention, poor memory or lack of inhibition may later suffer mental health issues as teenagers and young adults, a new study reveals.
Targeting specific markers in childhood for early treatment may help to minimise the risk of children developing certain psychopathological problems in adolescence and adult life, such as borderline personality disorder, depression and psychosis.
Cognitive deficits are core features of mental disorders and important in predicting long-term prognosis - the researchers' work indicates that individual patterns of such deficits predate specific mental disorders.
Analysing data from an initial UK cohort of 13,988 individuals born between April 1991 and December 1992, researchers discovered a number of key and specific links between childhood cognitive problems and mental health issues in later life, namely:
Deficits in sustained attention in eight-year-olds precede development of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms at 11-12 years and depression at 17-18 years;
Difficulties with inhibition in eight-year-olds were associated with psychotic experiences at 17-18 years; and
Working memory deficits in 10-year-olds were related to hypomania at 22-23 years.
The international team of researchers from the UK and Finland, led by experts from the University of Birmingham, published its findings today in JAMA Network Open.
The leading author of the study Dr. Isabel Morales-Muñoz, from the University of Birmingham's Institute for Mental Health and the Finnish Institute for Mental Health, in Helsinki, commented: "Our study highlights the potential impact of childhood cognitive deficits on young people's mental health, suggesting specific associations with certain conditions. Prevention strategies focussed on easing these specific cognitive issues could help to reduce the likelihood of such children developing linked mental health problems in adolescence and early adulthood."
The study was the first analysis following subjects over a significant period of time to explore specific associations between cognitive deficits in childhood and several psychopathological issues in young people.
Deficits in sustained attention at eight years being associated with BPD symptoms at 11-12 years is consistent with similar deficits in adult BPD patients linked to difficulties in sticking to therapy programmes. Previous evidence also suggests a significant link between adult BPD and childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms -indicating that ADHD could represent a risk factor for BPD.
The study also supports the theory that lack of inhibition in childhood precedes later psychotic experiences, with a lack of inhibitory control common in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
Researchers found that working memory deficits in childhood were linked to hypomania in young adults, but when they checked for co-existing psychopathological conditions this association disappeared - indicating that further investigation is needed.
Mental disorders cause a significant disease burden globally and at least 10% of children and
adolescents worldwide have a mental disorder. 75% of mental disorders diagnosed in adults have their onset in childhood and adolescence.
Bipolar disorder, depression and psychosis commonly emerge during adolescence and continue in young adulthood - potentially related to anomalies in the way adolescents mature caused by psychosocial, biological or environmental factors.
"It's crucial to study the onset of mental disorders at these early stages and evaluate which risk factors predate these conditions and in what way. These factors are core features of mental disorders such as psychosis and mood disorders," commented co-author Professor Matthew Broome.
"Deficits in cognitive function, ranging from decreased attention and working memory to disrupted social cognition and language, are common in psychiatric disorders. They severely compromise quality of life and could potentially predate serious mental health conditions by several years," commented the senior author of the study Professor Steven Marwaha.
INFORMATION:
For more information, please contact pressoffice@contacts.bham.ac.uk. For out-of-hours enquiries, please call +44 (0) 7789 921 165.
Notes to editors:
The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions, and its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 6,500 international students from nearly 150 countries.
Longitudinal Associations between Cognitive deficits in childhood and psychopathology in adolescence and young adulthood' - Isabel Morales-Muñoz, Rachel Upthegrove, Pavan K Mallikarjun, Matthew R Broome and Steven Marwaha is published in JAMA Network Open.
Research partners include: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham; Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Trust; and Zinnia Centre, Birmingham.
What The Study Did: This case series examines whether maternal SARS-CoV-2 is associated with outcomes in the eyes of their newborns.
Authors: Olívia Pereira Kiappe, M.D., M.Sc., of Universidade Federal de São Paulo in Brazil, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2021.1088)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, ...
What The Study Did: This observational study identifies and quantifies the association of race/ethnicity, sex and income, as well as state-specific lockdown measures, with six well-being dimensions in the United States.
Authors: Leigh C. Hamlet, B.S., of the University of Washington in Seattle, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.7373)
Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, ...
A new estimation of the strength of the magnetic field around the muon--a sub-atomic particle similar to, but heavier than, an electron--closes the gap between theory and experimental measurements, bringing it in line with the standard model that has guided particle physics for decades.
A paper describing the research by an international team of scientists appears April 8, 2021 in the journal Nature.
Twenty years ago, in an experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory, physicists detected what seemed to be a discrepancy between measurements of the muon's "magnetic ...
What The Study Did: Researchers report on the observation of a newly associated mucocutaneous eruption in a pediatric patient with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Zachary E. Holcomb, M.D., of Boston Children's Hospital, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2021.0385)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.
INFORMATION:
Media advisory: The full study is linked to this news release.
Embed this link to provide your readers ...
What The Study Did: In this observational study of 3.4 million live births in 2018, criminalizing immigrant policies were associated with higher rates of preterm birth for Black women born outside the U.S., while inclusive immigrant policies were associated with lower preterm birth for all women born outside the U.S.,particularly White women born outside the U.S.
Authors: May Sudhinaraset, Ph.D., of the Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, is the corresponding author.
To access the ...
What The Study Did: Researchers projected to the year 2040 what will become the most common and deadly cancers in the United States.
Authors: Lola Rahib, Ph.D., of Cancer Commons in Mountain View, California, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.4708)
Editor's Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and ...
What The Study Did: Questionnaire responses were compared to examine whether transgender children and teens experience significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression than their cisgender peers.
Authors: Dominic J. Gibson, Ph.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.4739)
Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, ...
Ancient DNA from Neandertals and early modern humans has recently shown that the groups likely interbred somewhere in the Near East after modern humans left Africa some 50,000 years ago. As a result, all people outside Africa carry around 2% to 3% Neandertal DNA. In modern human genomes, those Neandertal DNA segments became increasingly shorter over time and their length can be used to estimate when an individual lived. Archaeological data published last year furthermore suggests that modern humans were already present in southeastern Europe 47-43,000 years ago, but due to a scarcity of fairly complete human fossils and the lack of genomic DNA, there is little understanding of who these early human colonists were - or of their relationships to ancient and present-day ...
Analysis by international team including University of Warwick of the first transiting exoplanet that was discovered has revealed six different chemicals in its atmosphere.
It is the first time that so many molecules have been measured, and points to an atmosphere with more carbon present than oxygen
This chemical fingerprint is typical of a planet that formed much further away from its sun than the current location, a mere 7 million km from the star
Study tests techniques that will be useful for detecting signs of potentially habitable planets when more powerful telescopes come online
Artist's impression available - see Notes to Editors
Astronomers have found ...
A new clinical trial from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience, in collaboration with Oxford University, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex University, and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has established an innovative therapy as an effective means of treating paranoid thoughts in people experiencing psychosis.
In research published in JAMA Psychiatry today, participants of the SlowMo therapy trial had eight face-to-face therapy sessions with support from an interactive web platform and app. The app, designed in collaboration with people experiencing psychosis and the Royal College of Art, is used outside the clinic to help individuals feel safer in daily life.
Paranoia is fuelled ...
