Visual-spatial processing style is associated with psychopathology in adolescents with critical congenital heart disease

Objective: To determine whether visual-spatial processing style is associated with psychopathology in a large sample of adolescents with critical congenital heart disease (CHD). Local (part-oriented) style was hypothesized to increase risk for internalizing (but not externalizing) forms of psychopathology.

Method: Participants included 278 adolescents with critical CHD (dextro-transposition of the great arteries?=?134, tetralogy of Fallot?=?58, single-ventricle cardiac anatomy requiring the Fontan procedure?=?86). Visual-spatial processing style was indexed using Copy Style Ratings from the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure-Developmental Scoring System. The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children–Present & Lifetime Version was used to determine presence/absence of diagnosable DSM-IV psychiatric disorder(s). Processing style and psychopathology were assessed concurrently.

Results: Thirty-three percent of the sample had a part-oriented processing style. In multivariable binary logistic regression models, part-orientation was associated with more than twice the odds of having an anxiety disorder (lifetime: OR?=?2.2, p?=?.02, 95% CI?=?1.1–4.1; current: OR?=?2.7, p?=?.03, 95% CI?=?1.1–6.5) but was not associated with an increased risk for ADHD, disruptive behavior, or mood disorders (ps?>?.05).

Conclusions: Adolescents with critical CHD who approach complex visual-spatial materials in a local, part-oriented fashion are more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder than those who approach complexity more holistically. Part-orientation may make it more difficult for individuals to judge the relative importance of isolated details and engage in more adaptive perspective-taking.     

Improving Prenatal Diagnosis of Coarctation of the Aorta

Background

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between fetal echocardiographic measurements and the need for intervention (primary coarctation repair, staged coarctation repair, or catheter intervention) in prenatally diagnosed coarctation of the aorta.

The Association Between Physical Activity and Cataracts Among 17,777 People Aged 15–69 Years Residing in Spain

ABSTRACT

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to assess the association between levels of physical activity (PA) and the presence of cataracts in people aged 15–69 years residing in Spain.     

Is Gatekeeper Training Enough for Suicide Prevention?

While schools have the capacity to reach youth at-risk for suicide, there remains a gap between the number of youth with mental health issues and those who     

Multiple injections for low back pain: What’s the future?

To examine the strength of evidence available for multiple facet joint injections (FJIs) and medial branch blocks (MBBs), and to report on the variations in the NHS England framework using the getting it right first time (GIRFT) data. Systematic review using patient, intervention, comparison, outcome and study strategy. The literature search using Cochrane, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases using MeSH terms: lumbar spine, spinal injection and facet joint (“Appendix A”). Three studies were identified that investigated the efficacy of multiple FJIs or MBBs. None of these studies reported sustained positive outcomes at long-term follow-up. There is a paucity of levels I and II evidence available for the efficacy of multiple FJIs and MBBs in treating low back pain. GIRFT data show a high degree of variation in the use of multiple FJIs, which would not be supported by the literature. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.