Resumen

OLIVARES TORRES, Ana et al. Sustained attention in school aged children with congenital hypothyroidism. Rev Cubana Endocrinol [online]. 2004, vol.15, n.2. ISSN 1561-2953.

The programs of early diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism have proved the efficient prevention of mental retardation. The current scientific problem is the identification of subtle cognitive disorders persisting in spite of early treatment. It is convenient to have specific diagnostic procedures designed to this end. Different indirect methods suggest that even with intelligence quotients within the normal ranges, the process of maintaining attention during a prolonged time in these children is mildly compromised. This study is aimed at validating the efficiency of a SESH 1.0 computerized battery (system for evaluation and follow-up of hypothyroid patients) for the detection of disorders in children with congenital hypothyropidism (CH). Three groups of children were studied: learning disorders (LD), congenital hypothyroidism (CG) and sound controls (SC). The results show that the values of the children from group CH are at an intermediate level between the SC and the LD, which is interpreted as the existance of a subclinical deficit in sustained attention. The discriminatory capacity of the software used allows its inmediate incorporation to the clinical practice of the national CH early diagnosis program as a very useful complementary tool.

Palabras clave : Sustained attention; congenital hypothyroidism; learning disorders; neuromaturation; computerized tests; neuropsychology.