Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville (now at Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University).
J Neurodev Disord. 2009 Mar;1(1):4-14. doi: 10.1007/s11689-009-9003-1.
To determine the prevalence of anxiety disorders in children with Williams syndrome (WS), their sibling closest in age, and their mothers and to examine the predictors of anxiety in these groups.
The prevalence of anxiety disorders was assessed and compared to that in the general population.
Children with WS had a significantly higher prevalence of specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and separation anxiety in comparison to children in the general population. While mothers had a higher prevalence of GAD than population controls, the excess was accounted for by mothers who had onset after the birth of their WS child. The siblings had rates similar to the general population.
This pattern of findings suggests the presence of a gene in the WS region whose deletion predisposes to anxiety disorders. It is also worthwhile to investigate relations between genes deleted in WS and genes previously implicated in anxiety disorders.
确定威廉姆斯综合征（WS）患儿、与其年龄最接近的同胞兄弟姐妹及其母亲中焦虑障碍的患病率，并探讨这些群体中焦虑的预测因素。
评估焦虑障碍的患病率并与一般人群进行比较。
与一般人群相比，WS 患儿特定恐惧症、广泛性焦虑障碍（GAD）和分离焦虑的患病率明显更高。虽然母亲的 GAD 患病率高于普通人群，但这一增加是由 WS 患儿出生后发病的母亲造成的。兄弟姐妹的患病率与一般人群相似。
这些发现模式表明 WS 区域存在一个缺失会导致焦虑障碍的基因。此外，还值得研究 WS 中缺失的基因与先前涉及焦虑障碍的基因之间的关系。
