ArticleOrphanet journal of rare diseases2021
Williams syndrome: on the role of intellectual abilities in anxiety.
Article in Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disrupting fzd9b in Zebrafish Recapitulates Stress- and Anxiety-Like Behaviours Relevant to Williams Syndrome.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Comparing feedback learning and arousal responses in Down, Fragile X, and Williams syndromes.NPJ science of learning · 2026Article
- In-depth profile analysis and developmental trends in Wechsler performance among individuals with Williams syndrome.Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence · 2026Article
- Challenges with shifting, regardless of disengagement: attention mechanisms and eye movements in Williams syndrome.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2025Article
- Observational study to preliminarily characterize the audiological profile of chinese children with williams syndrome.Journal of otology · 2025Article
- No transfer of arousal from other's eyes in Williams syndrome.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Social feedback enhances learning in Williams syndrome.Scientific reports · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIndividuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have an elevated risk for anxiety disorders throughout the life span, making it a research priority to identify the individual factors associated with anxiety. Most of the existing literature is based on questionnaire data and suggests that impaired executive functions (EF) increase the risk for anxiety in WS. The aim of this study was to use direct measures by trained clinicians to investigate the effects of general intelligence, inhibition, sustained attention, and working memory on anxiety in WS, to further elucidate potential underlying mechanisms.
methodTwenty-four individuals with WS participated in the study (mean age: 29 years, range: 9-53 years), together with at least one of their parents. The MINI international neuropsychiatric interview for DSM-5 was completed to establish clinical diagnosis of anxiety, and the Clinical Global Impression Scale - Severity was used for an expert rating of symptom severity. Intellectual abilities were measured using the Wechsler scales, and attention and inhibition using the Conner's Continuous Performance Test. In addition, a parent-report questionnaire measuring EF, learning and memory was collected.
resultsIn contrast to the apriori hypothesis, there was no significant association between anxiety and core elements of EF such as working memory, sustained attention, and inhibition (i.e. the process of restraining one's impulses or behaviour). Using ordinal logistic regression analyses, we showed that decreasing intelligence quotient (IQ) and age are associated with elevated anxiety. We confirmed these results in between-groups analyses (anxiety disorder vs no current anxiety disorder), and low IQ was associated with higher risk of having an anxiety diagnosis. In addition, Bayesian statistics gave substantial evidence for no significant association between anxiety and inhibition.
conclusionBy using direct measures of psychological pathology and functioning, the current results provide a deeper characterisation of the WS phenotype and provide novel insights into the potential mechanisms underpinning anxiety.
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