Childhood dyspraxia predicts adult-onset nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorder

Dev Psychopathol. 2015 Nov;27(4 Pt 1):1323-30. doi: 10.1017/S0954579414001436.

Abstract

Several neurological variables have been investigated as premorbid biomarkers of vulnerability for schizophrenia and other related disorders. The current study examined whether childhood dyspraxia predicted later adult nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorders. From a standardized neurological examination performed with children (aged 10-13) at genetic high risk of schizophrenia and controls, several measures of dyspraxia were used to create a scale composed of face/head dyspraxia, oral articulation, ideomotor dyspraxia (clumsiness), and dressing dyspraxia (n = 244). Multinomial logistic regression showed higher scores on the dyspraxia scale predict nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorders relative to other psychiatric disorders and no mental illness outcomes, even after controlling for genetic risk, χ2 (4, 244) = 18.61, p < .001. Findings that symptoms of dyspraxia in childhood (reflecting abnormalities spanning functionally distinct brain networks) specifically predict adult nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorders are consistent with a theory of abnormal connectivity, and they highlight a marked early-stage vulnerability in the pathophysiology of nonaffective-psychosis-spectrum disorders.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Apraxias / diagnosis*
  • Apraxias / genetics
  • Apraxias / psychology*
  • Child
  • Early Diagnosis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Psychotic Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Psychotic Disorders / genetics
  • Psychotic Disorders / psychology*
  • Risk Factors
  • Schizophrenia / diagnosis*
  • Schizophrenia / genetics
  • Schizophrenic Psychology*
  • Statistics as Topic