Anxiety Disorders in Children with
Williams Syndrome, Their Mothers,
and Siblings: Implications for the
Etiology of Anxiety Disorders
-
1
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, United States
Purpose: Genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of anxiety disorders. Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder caused by a deletion on chromosome 7q11.23 and associated with increased prevalence of anxiety disorders relative to the general population and many other genetic disorders associated with intellectual disability, can be used in the search for susceptibility genes for anxiety disorders. This study examines the prevalence of anxiety disorders in children with WS, their mothers, and their siblings as well as predictors of anxiety in these groups, in order to facilitate the use of WS in studies of the genetics of anxiety disorders.
Method: The prevalence of anxiety disorders in a sample of 132 4 – 16 year-old children with WS, their mothers, and 84 siblings in the same age range was assessed using the ADISP, a structured diagnostic interview.
Results: Prevalence of anxiety disorders was compared to the general population (Table 1,).The children with WS had a significantly higher prevalence of specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and separation anxiety in comparison to children in the general population. Their mothers had a significantly higher prevalence of GAD than women in the general population, but the prevalence rate for GAD in this group prior to the birth of the child with WS was comparable to that for women in the general population. The siblings had a significantly higher prevalence of specific phobia than children in the epidemiological study used for comparison, but the prevalence for siblings was similar to the rates reported in other studies of specific phobia in typically developing children. The odds of a child with WS having an anxiety disorder increased with the severity of maternal anxiety.
Discussion: This is the first study to examine familial aggregation of anxiety disorders in individuals with WS. The elevated prevalence rates of anxiety disorders in children with WS suggest a connection between the deletion found in WS and anxiety disorders. Given the increased prevalence of anxiety disorders in children with WS, genetic studies examining possible links between particular gene(s) deleted in WS and anxiety are warranted. It would also be worthwhile to investigate relations between genes deleted in WS and genes previously implicated in anxiety disorders.
Conference:
12th International Professional Conference on Williams Syndrome, Garden Grove,CA, United States, 13 Jul - 14 Jul, 2008.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
SESSION 5: Anxiety and Other Psychiatric Problems
Citation:
Leyfer
O,
Borden
JW and
Mervis
CB
(2009). Anxiety Disorders in Children with
Williams Syndrome, Their Mothers,
and Siblings: Implications for the
Etiology of Anxiety Disorders.
Conference Abstract:
12th International Professional Conference on Williams Syndrome.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.07.015
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Received:
30 Apr 2009;
Published Online:
30 Apr 2009.
*
Correspondence:
O. Leyfer, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, oleyfer@bu.edu