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Precursors of executive function in infants with sickle cell anemia
Alexandra M Hogan1, Paul T Telfer, Fenella J Kirkham
11Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Early executive function skills in infants with sickle cell anemia show subtle delays. While not statistically significant overall, specific task performance suggests potential developmental challenges impacting cognitive development.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Psychology
- Hematology
Background:
- Executive dysfunction is a known complication in sickle cell anemia.
- Early data on executive function precursors in infants with sickle cell anemia are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate early executive function development in infants with sickle cell anemia.
- To identify potential developmental delays related to executive function precursors.
Main Methods:
- Infants with sickle cell anemia (n=14) and controls (n=14) were assessed at 9 and 12 months.
- The "A-not-B" task and Object Retrieval task were used to measure executive function precursors.
- Hemoglobin oxygen saturation was correlated with performance in sickle cell anemia infants.
Main Results:
- No significant overall group differences were found at 9 or 12 months.
- Sickle cell anemia infants showed a notable improvement on the A-not-B task between 9 and 12 months.
- Lower hemoglobin oxygen saturation correlated with poorer performance on the Object Retrieval task at 9 months.
Conclusions:
- Subtle delays in acquiring developmental skills may be linked to later executive dysfunction in childhood.
- Early assessment of executive function precursors is crucial for understanding long-term outcomes in sickle cell anemia.
- Hemoglobin oxygen saturation may play a role in early cognitive development in infants with sickle cell anemia.
Abstract:
Executive dysfunction occurs in sickle cell anemia, but there are few early data. Infants with sickle cell anemia (n = 14) and controls (n = 14) performed the "A-not-B" and Object Retrieval search tasks, measuring precursors of executive function at 9 and 12 months. Significant group differences were not found. However, for the A-not-B task, 7 of 11 sickle cell anemia infants scored in the lower 2 performance categories at 9 months, but only 1 at 12 months (P = .024); controls obtained scores at 12 months that were statistically comparable to the scores they had already obtained at 9 months. On the Object Retrieval task, 9- and 12-month controls showed comparable scores, whereas infants with sickle cell anemia continued to improve (P = .027); at 9 months, those with lower hemoglobin oxygen saturation passed fewer trials (R s = 0.670, P = .024) and took longer to obtain the toy (R s = -0.664, P = .013). Subtle delays in acquiring developmental skills may underlie abnormal executive function in childhood.
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