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Motor and visuomotor function in 10-year-old children with congenital heart disease: association with behaviour
Joana Teixeira1, Jon Caflisch1, Aziz Chaouch2
1Child Development Center, University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Insights
Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) exhibit persistent motor impairments into school age, linked to increased behavioral issues. Early motor assessment and support are crucial for these children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
- Motor Control Research
Background:
- Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) face elevated risks of neurodevelopmental impairments.
- Limited data exists on the long-term motor function and its behavioral correlations in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate motor function and behavior in 10-year-old children following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery for CHD.
- To investigate the association between motor performance and behavioral outcomes in school-aged children with CHD.
Main Methods:
- Assessed 129 children with CHD using the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment for motor performance and movement quality.
- Administered the Beery Test of Visual-Motor Integration and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.
- Created a total timed motor score from four timed components of the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment.
Main Results:
- Children with CHD demonstrated significantly poorer motor performance across all Zurich Neuromotor Assessment tasks compared to normative values (p ≤ 0.001).
- Prevalence of poor motor performance ranged from 22.2% to 61.3%, with visuomotor integration and motor coordination notably impaired.
- Children with the lowest motor scores exhibited increased internalizing (p = 0.002) and externalizing (p = 0.028) behavioral problems.
Conclusions:
- School-aged children with CHD present with persistent motor domain impairments associated with behavioral challenges.
- These findings underscore the need for comprehensive motor assessments and interventions for children with CHD into school age.
Background:
Children with CHD are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental impairments. There is little information on long-term motor function and its association with behaviour.
Aims:
To assess motor function and behaviour in a cohort of 10-year-old children with CHD after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.
Methods:
Motor performance and movement quality were examined in 129 children with CHD using the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment providing four timed and one qualitative component, and a total timed motor score was created based on the four timed components. The Beery Test of Visual-Motor Integration and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were administered.
Results:
All Zurich Neuromotor Assessment motor tasks were below normative values (all p ≤ 0.001), and the prevalence of poor motor performance (≤10th percentile) ranged from 22.2% to 61.3% in the different components. Visuomotor integration and motor coordination were poorer compared to norms (all p ≤ 0.001). 14% of all analysed children had motor therapy at the age of 10 years. Children with a total motor score ≤10th percentile showed more internalising (p = 0.002) and externalising (p = 0.028) behavioural problems.
Conclusions:
School-aged children with CHD show impairments in a variety of motor domains which are related to behavioural problems. Our findings emphasise that motor problems can persist into school-age and require detailed assessment and support.
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