Patterns of WISC-V Performance in Children with Congenital Heart Disease

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a prevalent birth defect, with survival rates improving due to medical advancements.
• The long-term quality of life and neurodevelopmental outcomes for children with CHD are increasingly critical areas of research.
• Understanding the cognitive impact of CHD is essential for comprehensive patient care and support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the cognitive and intellectual performance of children with CHD using the latest Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V).
• To compare the WISC-V performance of children with CHD against a normative control group.
• To identify specific patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses in children with CHD and explore correlations with disease variables.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) to a cohort of children diagnosed with congenital heart disease.
• Compared WISC-V scores (across all indices and subtests) of the CHD group to age-matched normative data.
• Analyzed patterns of impairment and investigated relationships between specific congenital heart disease characteristics and WISC-V outcomes.

Main Results:

• Children with CHD demonstrated significantly poorer performance than controls across all major WISC-V indices and most subtests, with large effect sizes.
• Specific subtests showing the highest rates of impairment in the CHD group included Block Design, Digit Span, and Similarities.
• Subtests least affected in children with CHD were Symbol Search, Picture Span, Figure Weights, and Vocabulary.

Conclusions:

• Congenital heart disease is associated with widespread cognitive deficits in children, affecting multiple intellectual domains.
• The findings highlight specific areas of cognitive vulnerability, such as visual-spatial processing and working memory, in children with CHD.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these cognitive differences and to develop targeted interventions for affected children.