Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pediatrics
• Psychology

Background:

• Sickle cell disease (SCD) is associated with neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders.
• Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is a syndrome often co-occurring with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but its presence in SCD has not been previously described.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the reliability and validity of a SCT measure in children with SCD.
• To examine the associations between SCT symptoms and biopsychosocial risk factors and functional outcomes in children with SCD.

Main Methods:

• Caregivers of 85 children (ages 7-16) with SCD completed the Kiddie-Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (K-SCT) measure, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, and Conners 3.
• Disease-related characteristics were extracted from health records.

Main Results:

• The K-SCT demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.92) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.82).
• K-SCT scores correlated significantly with ADHD-Inattention and ADHD-Hyperactive/Impulsive symptoms, as well as learning problems.
• In multivariate analyses, SCT uniquely predicted variance in learning and executive functioning, even after controlling for ADHD symptoms. Nearly all participants with elevated SCT and ADHD-Inattention had significant learning problems.

Conclusions:

• The K-SCT is a reliable and valid tool for assessing SCT in children with SCD.
• SCT symptoms are associated with learning difficulties in SCD, independent of ADHD symptoms.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the biopsychosocial factors contributing to SCT in SCD and its long-term implications.