Anxiety Disorders in Williams Syndrome Contrasted with Intellectual Disability and the General Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2017-12, Vol.47 (12), p.3765-3777
• Main Authors: Royston, R., Howlin, P., Waite, J., Oliver, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Anxiety Disorders - complications; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; At Risk Persons; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Care and treatment; Child; Child and School Psychology; Comparative Analysis; Diagnosis; Female; Genetic Disorders; Health aspects; Humans; Incidence; Intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Intellectual Disability - complications; Intellectual Disability - diagnosis; Intellectual Disability - psychology; Learning disabilities; Literature reviews; Male; Meta Analysis; Neurosciences; Pediatrics; Population; Psychology; Public Health; S.I. : Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorders; Systematic review; Williams syndrome; Williams Syndrome - complications; Williams Syndrome - diagnosis; Williams Syndrome - psychology
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-016-2909-z

Individuals with specific genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability (ID), such as Williams syndrome (WS), are at increased risk for developing anxiety disorders. A systematic literature review identified sixteen WS papers that could generate pooled prevalence estimates of anxiety disorders for WS. A meta-analysis compared these estimates with prevalence estimates for the heterogeneous ID population and the general population. Estimated rates of anxiety disorders in WS were high. WS individuals were four times more likely to experience anxiety than individuals with ID, and the risk was also heightened compared to the general population. The results provide further evidence of an unusual profile of high anxiety in WS.