Doubled risk of anxiety for 18 month-old children with congenital heart defects

	Tweet

Research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) shows that children with severe congenital heart defects have twice the risk of anxiety at 18 months of age compared to healthy children. Children with mild and moderate heart defects, on the other hand, did not show an increased risk of anxiety.

“These findings suggest that children with severe forms of congenital heart defects are prone to emotional problems at a very young age. The increased risk of anxiety could be related to the number of medical procedures and hospital admissions that characterise the first years of life for these children,” said PhD student Kim Stene-Larsen at the NIPH.

Part of the HEARTKIDS project
The NIPH is collaborating with the Department of Paediatric Cardiology at Oslo University Hospital on a major research project, HEARTKIDS. In this follow-up study the researchers examined whether children with congenital heart defects had an increased risk of internalising problems such as anxiety or sleep problems at 18 months of age. 

Out of 198 eighteen month old children with a congenital heart defect who were studied, 58 had a severe heart defect. Analysis showed that the children with a severe heart defect had a doubled risk of anxiety compared to healthy children.

In addition to the severity of the heart defect, maternal anxiety and depression explained some of the anxiety in these children. Children with mild or moderate heart defects, however, showed no signs of anxiety or other internalising problems.

The HEARTKIDS project is a sub-study of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council. This longitudinal study aims to explore the psychological and developmental consequences of congenital heart defects in infants and toddlers. Through a merge of the MoBa and the Oslo University Hospital’s nationwide register of congenital heart defects, which provides accurate diagnostic information about heart defects, it is possible to compare children with varying severity of heart defects with healthy children.

Previous findings from the HEARTKIDS project have shown that 6-month-old children with moderate or severe congenital heart defects show a higher risk of emotional reactivity (irritability, frequent and powerful crying).

Need for more knowledge about children with congenital heart defects
Approximately one percent of all newborn children have a congenital heart defect. The severity of the heart defects varies widely from minor defects to complex conditions that require a series of operations throughout the child’s first year.

Several studies have shown that children with congenital heart defects down to 3 years of age are more prone to emotional problems like anxiety and depression. However, there is little knowledge about the emotional problems in infancy and early childhood, which is the phase of life where most of the medical treatment is carried out. The HEARTKIDS project is focusing on the phase from birth to child age 3 years of age.

Reference
Longitudinal findings from a Norwegian case-cohort study on internalising problems in children with congenital heart defects is published online by Acta Paediatrica. Doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.02015.x.

###

Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo

RELATED STORIES:
Sexual health promotion is low among people with serious mental illnesses, despite higher risk   Newer Antidepressants Work 2 Ways   Study Tests Depression Treatment for Diabetes Patients   Adolescent Depression   Use of Cannabinoids (Marijuana) Could Help Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Patients   The cost-effectiveness of four treatments for marijuana dependence   Adolescent insomnia linked to depression and substance abuse during adolescence and young adulthood   Depression Diversity: Brain Studies Reveal Big Differences   Smoking bans and clozapine levels   Why are men more susceptible to alcoholism?   Early pot smoking, depression may be linked   Anxiety may worsen prognosis for heart patients   PTSD Causes Early Heart Disease Death   Are personality disorders caused by environmental or constitutional factors?   Depression Can Hamper Glucose Control in People With Diabetes

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

Heart Defects in Children Heart diseases like in elder people are common in children. In about a 1,000 children born, 8 of them are diagnosed with a heart defect. The branch of cardiology that deals with heart diseases in children is the Paediatric Cardiology. There are specific symptoms for the suspicion of cardiovascular abnormalities but the most specific symptom that is tested for is the cardiac murmur. Cardiac murmur is nothing but an extra heart sound that is produced as a result of turbulent flow of blood which produces a sound that is audible. Many children with cardiac abnormalities are asymptomatic because the malformation does no t result in major haemodynamic alterations.

posted by manuheart123 on 12/31/2010 at 10:40 pm -08:00