Psychiatric Disorders in Adolescents With Single Ventricle Congenital Heart Disease

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mental health outcomes for survivors of critical congenital heart disease (CHD) remain under-investigated. We sought to examine psychiatric disorders and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with single ventricle CHD and to explore whether patient-related risk factors predict dysfunction. METHODS: This cohort study recruited 156 adolescents with single ventricle CHD who underwent the Fontan procedure and 111 healthy referents. Participants underwent comprehensive psychiatric evaluation including a clinician-rated psychiatric interview and parent- and self-report ratings of anxiety, disruptive behavior, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depressive symptoms. Risk factors for dysfunction included IQ, medical characteristics, and concurrent brain abnormalities. RESULTS: Adolescents with single ventricle CHD had higher rates of lifetime psychiatric diagnosis compared with referents (CHD: 65%, referent: 22%; P P P CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with single ventricle CHD display a high risk of psychiatric morbidity, particularly anxiety disorders and ADHD. Early identification of psychiatric symptoms is critical to the management of patients with CHD.