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Motor impairment in children with anxiety disorders

Benedicte Skirbekk1, Berit Hjelde Hansen, Beate Oerbeck

  • 1Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, Norway. benedicte.skirbekk@r-bup.no

Psychiatry Research
|March 6, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Children with anxiety disorders (AnxDs) show significant motor impairments, similar to those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Motor difficulties in AnxDs often impact daily life, highlighting the need for motor assessments.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Movement Science

Background:

  • Anxiety disorders (AnxDs) are prevalent in children, often co-occurring with other conditions like attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  • Motor skill deficits have been noted in ADHD, but their prevalence and impact in AnxDs are less understood.
  • Understanding motor function in AnxDs is crucial for comprehensive assessment and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the frequency and severity of motor impairments in children with AnxDs.
  • To compare motor abilities of children with AnxDs to those with ADHD, comorbid AnxDs and ADHD, and typically developing controls.
  • To determine if motor impairment in AnxDs affects daily living activities.

Main Methods:

  • Participants included 141 children (7-13 years) with diagnosed AnxDs, ADHD, comorbid AnxDs and ADHD, or no diagnosis (controls).
  • Diagnoses were confirmed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (Kiddie-SADS).
  • Motor ability was evaluated using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC).

Main Results:

  • Children with AnxDs demonstrated significantly higher motor impairment scores on the M-ABC compared to controls.
  • No significant differences in motor impairment were found between children with AnxDs, ADHD, or comorbid conditions.
  • Nearly half (46%) of children with AnxDs scored below the 5th percentile on the M-ABC, indicating clinically significant motor deficits.

Conclusions:

  • Motor impairment is a common feature in children with anxiety disorders, comparable to that seen in ADHD.
  • These motor deficits in AnxDs can be severe enough to interfere with daily activities.
  • Routine assessment of motor function should be considered in the clinical evaluation of children with anxiety disorders.

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