Psychological and social findings in adolescents with phenylketonuria

In a retrospective study, 34 early treated, normally intelligent adolescents with phenylketonuria (PKU) and their parents were tested with several psychometric personality inventories and self-developed questionaires concerning their psychosocial situation and their disease- and diet-specific knowledge. Results show that the patients are characterized by less autonomy, a more negative evaluation of their scholastic ability, less achievement motivation, low frustration tolerance, more negative self description, less extraversion and impulsiveness, a feeling of not being quite healthy, more grave and a higher level of dependency from their families. The patients saw their whole social situation as being distinctly restricted. Their knowledge concerning disease and diet was alarmingly poor and the majority had great difficulties in managing the diet satisfactorily without parental help. Up to the age of 15 years the serum phenylalanine levels were persistently above the desired range.