Department of Psychology and Human Development.
Department of Neurology.
Neuropsychology. 2022 May;36(4):288-296. doi: 10.1037/neu0000793. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease characterized by neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression), where individuals suffer high levels of stress from the social, physical, and cognitive burden of the disease. The present study examined two factors associated with increased risk for symptoms of anxiety and depression: executive function skills (inhibitory control/attention and working memory) and skills to cope with stress.
Adults with HD completed the NIH Toolbox measures of inhibitory control/attention and working memory, as well as self-report measures of coping with HD-related stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Path analyses were used to test direct and indirect associations among the subtypes of executive functioning, coping, and symptoms.
No significant associations were found in the full sample ( = 47), due to a significant portion of the sample with very low executive function abilities. Additional analyses were conducted on a subset of the sample (participants in the top three quartiles on both measures of executive functioning, = 32). Significant indirect associations emerged among inhibitory control/attention skills, secondary control coping (e.g., acceptance and reappraisal), and symptoms of anxiety and depression in the subsample. Higher inhibitory control/attention skills were associated with greater use of secondary control coping, and greater use of these coping skills was related to lower symptoms of anxiety and depression. No direct or indirect associations were found among working memory skills, coping, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Implications for interventions to enhance executive function and coping skills in adults with HD are highlighted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
亨廷顿病（HD）是一种常染色体显性神经退行性疾病，其特征是神经精神症状（如焦虑和抑郁），患者承受着来自疾病的社会、身体和认知负担的巨大压力。本研究探讨了与焦虑和抑郁症状风险增加相关的两个因素：执行功能技能（抑制控制/注意力和工作记忆）和应对压力的技能。
HD 成人完成 NIH 工具包对抑制控制/注意力和工作记忆的测量，以及对与 HD 相关的压力和焦虑与抑郁症状的自我报告测量。路径分析用于测试执行功能的亚型、应对方式和症状之间的直接和间接关联。
由于样本中相当一部分人的执行功能能力非常低，因此在全样本（n=47）中未发现显著关联。在子样本（两个执行功能测量的前三个四分位数的参与者，n=32）中进行了额外的分析。在子样本中，抑制控制/注意力技能、二级控制应对（如接受和重新评估）和焦虑与抑郁症状之间出现了显著的间接关联。更高的抑制控制/注意力技能与二级控制应对的更多使用相关，而这些应对技能的更多使用与较低的焦虑和抑郁症状相关。在工作记忆技能、应对和焦虑与抑郁症状之间未发现直接或间接关联。
强调了在 HD 成人中增强执行功能和应对技能的干预措施的意义。（PsycInfo 数据库记录（c）2022 APA，保留所有权利）。
