Are children with mitral valve prolapse more anxious?

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Child Psychiatry
• Valvular Heart Disease

Background:

• Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a prevalent valvular condition in children.
• Symptoms in pediatric MVP are not solely explained by mitral regurgitation severity.
• The study investigates the link between symptom status and anxiety disorders in children with MVP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if children with MVP have higher rates of anxiety disorders compared to controls.
• To explore the correlation between symptom presentation in MVP and the presence of anxiety.
• To assess the utility of anxiety screening in pediatric MVP patients.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 115 children with MVP and 53 controls participated.
• The Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) scale was administered to all participants.
• Anxiety disorder was indicated by SCARED scores of 25 or higher.

Main Results:

• Mean SCARED scores were 29.2 in the MVP group and 24.9 in the control group (P=0.065), with no statistically significant difference.
• No significant difference was found in the number of participants scoring 25 or above between groups.
• Symptomatic MVP patients demonstrated significantly higher SCARED scores than asymptomatic cases.

Conclusions:

• Children with MVP do not exhibit elevated anxiety scores compared to non-MVP children.
• Elevated anxiety scores in MVP patients correlate with symptom status.
• Pediatric MVP patients with higher anxiety scores may benefit from psychiatric assessment.