Anxiety disorders in children with epispadias-exstrophy.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the hypothesis that anxiety disorders are common comorbid conditions in children with the epispadias-exstrophy complex.

METHODS

Twenty consecutive outpatient exstrophy subjects ranging in age from 5 to 22 years were assessed using a formalized semistructured psychiatric evaluation and were categorized according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version IV, criteria. Disorders were identified if subjects endured moderate to severe impairment in their home, academic, and social environments.

RESULTS

All 20 subjects met the criteria for at least one anxiety disorder; 19 met criteria for more than one anxiety disorder. The adolescent subjects described a gradual waning of some specific symptoms some time after surgical correction of the physical conditions (eg, incontinence) but intensifying sexual anxiety with age.

CONCLUSIONS

The epispadias-exstrophy complex appears to be associated with clinically significant vulnerabilities for anxiety disorders in children.