title: Cognition in African children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: The aims of the study were: (1) to describe the performance of African children with symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder on selected neuropsychologic tests and compare it with performance among peers of the same age without symptoms; (2) to explore through a factor analysis if the selected tests cover the same functions as known from studies in Europe and North America. A nested case-control approach was used to select the two groups of children. The tests were selected to measure aspects of executive functions, attention and memory functions as well as motor skills. A total of 185 schoolchildren (28 cases and 157 control subjects) aged 85 to 119 months old were included. The findings indicate only minor difference between children with symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and control subjects in most of the tasks. However, children with symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder performed more poorly on tests of motor skills and had more violations of rules on the planning task. The factor analysis indicated a three-factor model, confirming that the selected tests could be used as measures of executive/motor functions, attention, and memory functions. Similar findings have been reported among children in Europe and North America.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kinshasa University Hospital, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Espérance
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kashala
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Elgen
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sommerfelt
authors.forename: Thorkild
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tylleskär
authors.forename: Astri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lundervold
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D009048:Motor Skills; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics