In a new, long-term study, researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that children with lower IQs showed an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders as adults, including schizophrenia, depression and generalized anxiety disorder.
Lower IQ was also linked to psychiatric disorders that were more persistent and an increased risk of having two or more diagnoses at age 32.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder that affects normal behavior and impairs the ability to concentrate.
Advertisement
The study participants were members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a cohort of children born in 1972-1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand.
At the initial assessment at age 3, the study had 1,037 children. The participants were also interviewed and tested on their overall health and behavior at ages 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 26 and at age 32, when 96 percent of the original cohort participated. IQs were assessed at ages 7, 9 and 11.
![Adolescent Depression]( "Adolescent Depression")
Adolescent depression is an ailment that occurs during the teenage characterized by persistent melancholy, disappointment and loss of self-esteem.
Psychiatric disorders were assessed at ages 18 through 32 in interviews by clinicians who had no knowledge of the subjects' IQ or psychiatric history.
The researchers used IQ as a marker of a concept called cognitive reserve, which refers to variation between people in their brain's resilience to neuropathological damage.
They found that lower childhood IQ predicted an increased risk of a variety of adult mental disorders.
"Lower childhood IQ predicted increased risk of schizophrenia, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. Individuals with lower childhood IQ also had more persistent depression and anxiety and were more likely to be diagnosed with two or more disorders in adulthood," said lead author Karestan Koenen, assistant professor of society, human development, and health at HSPH.
No link was found between lower childhood IQ and substance dependence disorders, simple phobia, panic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The mechanism through which lower childhood IQ might lead to increased risk of adult anxiety disorders is not known, but the authors suggest some possible explanations.
They write that lower childhood IQ might reveal a difference in brain health that makes an individual more vulnerable to certain mental disorders.
Another possible mechanism is stress - individuals with lower childhood IQs are less equipped to deal with complex challenges of modern daily life, which may make them more vulnerable to developing mental disorders.
The findings may be helpful in treating individuals with mental health disorders.
"Lower childhood IQ was associated with greater severity of mental disorders including persistence over time and having two or more diagnoses at age 32," said Koenen.
The study will be published online December 1, 2008 and in the January print issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.
Source: ANI
SPH
Adolescent Depression
Adolescent depression is an ailment that occurs during the teenage characterized by persistent melancholy, disappointment and loss of self-esteem.
Advertisement
Psychiatric disorders were assessed at ages 18 through 32 in interviews by clinicians who had no knowledge of the subjects' IQ or psychiatric history.
The researchers used IQ as a marker of a concept called cognitive reserve, which refers to variation between people in their brain's resilience to neuropathological damage.
They found that lower childhood IQ predicted an increased risk of a variety of adult mental disorders.
"Lower childhood IQ predicted increased risk of schizophrenia, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. Individuals with lower childhood IQ also had more persistent depression and anxiety and were more likely to be diagnosed with two or more disorders in adulthood," said lead author Karestan Koenen, assistant professor of society, human development, and health at HSPH.
No link was found between lower childhood IQ and substance dependence disorders, simple phobia, panic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The mechanism through which lower childhood IQ might lead to increased risk of adult anxiety disorders is not known, but the authors suggest some possible explanations.
They write that lower childhood IQ might reveal a difference in brain health that makes an individual more vulnerable to certain mental disorders.
Another possible mechanism is stress - individuals with lower childhood IQs are less equipped to deal with complex challenges of modern daily life, which may make them more vulnerable to developing mental disorders.
The findings may be helpful in treating individuals with mental health disorders.
"Lower childhood IQ was associated with greater severity of mental disorders including persistence over time and having two or more diagnoses at age 32," said Koenen.
The study will be published online December 1, 2008 and in the January print issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.
Source: ANI
SPH
Depression
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders affecting approximately 340 million people in the world. No one is immune from depression - it occurs in people of all social classes, all countries and all cultural settings.
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Child Health News
New study findings from three different populations and countries show that attention and behavior problems in childhood could predict a range of adult outcomes.
Sleep patterns of infants can be anticipated based on cortisol levels during the later stages of pregnancy, says a new study to be presented at the annual meeting of SLEEP 2023.
Analyzing the earliest sex differences in language-related activities, recent research showed boys produced significantly more speech-like vocalizations (protophones) than girls.
A mother found a team at Saint Louis University's Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic that empowered her daughter to communicate with increased confidence in different settings.
In 2022, the number of North Korean kids falling under the obese category stood at 47,500 compared with 25,100 in 2012.