Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37173621›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurodevelopmental disorders2023

Executive functioning in preschoolers with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and the impact of congenital heart defects.

Emma Everaert, Jacob A S Vorstman, Iris S Selten, Martijn G Slieker, Frank Wijnen, Tessel D Boerma, Michiel L Houben

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Neurocognitive and Socio-Emotional Profile of Children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Executive Functions, Social Processing Deficits and Clinical Implications.International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Emma EveraertInstitute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK, Utrecht, The Netherlands. e.everaert@uu.nl.ORCID 0000-0003-2400-1684
Jacob A S VorstmanProgram in Genetics and Genome Biology, Research Institute, and Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Iris S SeltenInstitute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Martijn G SliekerDepartment of Pediatric Cardiology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85090, 3508 AB, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Frank WijnenInstitute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Tessel D Boerma *Institute for Language Sciences, Utrecht University, Trans 10, 3512 JK, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Michiel L Houben *Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Lundlaan 6, 3584 EA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Utrecht University · NLUniversity Medical Center Utrecht · NLUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundExecutive functioning (EF) is an umbrella term for various cognitive functions that play a role in monitoring and planning to effectuate goal-directed behavior. The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), the most common microdeletion syndrome, is associated with a multitude of both somatic and cognitive symptoms, including EF impairments in school-age and adolescence. However, results vary across different EF domains and studies with preschool children are scarce. As EF is critically associated with later psychopathology and adaptive functioning, our first aim was to study EF in preschool children with 22q11DS. Our second aim was to explore the effect of a congenital heart defects (CHD) on EF abilities, as CHD are common in 22q11DS and have been implicated in EF impairment in individuals with CHD without a syndromic origin.

methodsAll children with 22q11DS (n = 44) and typically developing (TD) children (n = 81) were 3.0 to 6.5 years old and participated in a larger prospective study. We administered tasks measuring visual selective attention, visual working memory, and a task gauging broad EF abilities. The presence of CHD was determined by a pediatric cardiologist based on medical records.

resultsAnalyses showed that children with 22q11DS were outperformed by TD peers on the selective attention task and the working memory task. As many children were unable to complete the broad EF task, we did not run statistical analyses, but provide a qualitative description of the results. There were no differences in EF abilities between children with 22q11DS with and without CHDs.

conclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study measuring EF in a relatively large sample of young children with 22q11DS. Our results show that EF impairments are already present in early childhood in children with 22q11DS. In line with previous studies with older children with 22q11DS, CHDs do not appear to have an effect on EF performance. These findings might have important implications for early intervention and support the improvement of prognostic accuracy.

Indexed as

DiGeorge SyndromeAdolescentAttentionChildChild, PreschoolCognitionExecutive FunctionHumansProspective Studies22q11.2 deletion syndrome22q11DSCongenital heart defectDiGeorge syndromeExecutive functioningSelective attentionVelocardiofacial syndromeWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID37173621
PMCPMC10181926
OpenAlexW4376630919

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.