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Assessment of Executive Functions in Preschool Children With Sickle Cell Anemia

Michelle Downes1, Fenella J Kirkham2, Paul T Telfer3

  • 11School of Psychology,University College Dublin,Dublin,Ireland.

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS
|May 31, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Preschool children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) show early executive function (EF) deficits in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, but not working memory or processing speed. These findings highlight specific areas of concern for early intervention in SCA.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) often exhibit executive dysfunction.
  • Early development of executive function (EF) in preschool-aged children with SCA, particularly those without stroke, remains understudied.
  • Understanding when EF deficits emerge is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the feasibility of assessing early executive functioning in preschool children with SCA.
  • To examine specific domains of EF, including processing speed, working memory, attention, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.
  • To compare EF development in children with SCA to matched controls.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study design was employed.
  • 22 preschool children with SCA were compared to age- and sex-matched controls.
  • Executive functioning was assessed across multiple domains, including behavioral measures and everyday function reported by parents.

Main Results:

  • Potential deficits were observed in early emerging executive skills, specifically inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility.
  • No significant differences were found in working memory or processing speed between groups.
  • Parents reported no differences in everyday executive functioning.

Conclusions:

  • While deficits in working memory and processing speed may not be apparent in early childhood SCA, specific challenges in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control are evident.
  • These findings suggest that targeted interventions for executive functioning in preschool children with SCA should focus on these specific domains.
  • The study discusses the feasibility of using existing EF measures to characterize early development in this population.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cognitionattentioncognitive flexibilityexecutive functionpreschoolsickle cell disease

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