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Cognitive functioning in a population-based sample of young adults with anxiety disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

A.E. Castaneda ,
J. Suvisaari ,
M. Marttunen ,
J. Perälä ,
S.I. Saarni ,
T. Aalto-Setälä ,
J. Lönnqvist  and
A. Tuulio-Henriksson
A.E. Castaneda*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
J. Suvisaari
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Social Psychiatry, Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
M. Marttunen
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
J. Perälä
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland
S.I. Saarni
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
T. Aalto-Setälä
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Child Psychiatry, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
J. Lönnqvist
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
A. Tuulio-Henriksson
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300Helsinki, Finland Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
*
*Corresponding author.Tel.: +358 20610 8651; fax: +358 20610 8478. E-mail address: anu.castaneda@thl.fi (A.E. Castaneda).
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Abstract

Objective

Cognitive functioning in anxiety disorders has received little investigation, particularly among young adults and in non-clinical samples. The present study examined cognitive functioning in a population-based sample of young adults with anxiety disorders in comparison to healthy peers.

Methods

A population-based sample of 21–35-year-olds with a lifetime history of anxiety disorders (n = 75) and a random sample of healthy controls (n = 71) derived from the same population were compared in terms of performance in neuropsychological tests measuring verbal and visual short-term memory, verbal long-term memory, attention, psychomotor processing speed, and executive functioning.

Results

In general, young adults with anxiety disorders did not have major cognitive impairments when compared to healthy peers. When participants with anxiety disorder in remission were excluded, persons with current anxiety disorder scored lower in visual working memory tests. Current psychotropic medication use and low current psychosocial functioning associated with deficits in executive functioning, psychomotor processing speed, and visual short-term memory.

Conclusions

Lifetime history of anxiety disorders is not associated with cognitive impairment among young adults in the general population. However, among persons with anxiety disorders, current psychotropic medication use and low psychosocial functioning, indicating more severe symptoms, may associate with cognitive impairments.

Keywords

Anxiety disorderNeuropsychologyCognitive impairmentYoung adultGeneral population
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 26 , Issue 6 , September 2011 , pp. 346 - 353
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2011

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