PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of anxiety disorders in children with Williams syndrome (WS), their sibling closest in age, and their mothers and to examine the predictors of anxiety in these groups. METHODS The prevalence of anxiety disorders was assessed and compared to that in the general population. RESULTS Children with WS had a significantly higher prevalence of specific phobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and separation anxiety in comparison to children in the general population. While mothers had a higher prevalence of GAD than population controls, the excess was accounted for by mothers who had onset after the birth of their WS child. The siblings had rates similar to the general population. CONCLUSIONS This pattern of findings suggests the presence of a gene in the WS region whose deletion predisposes to anxiety disorders. It is also worthwhile to investigate relations between genes deleted in WS and genes previously implicated in anxiety disorders.

中文翻译：

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威廉姆斯综合征儿童及其母亲和兄弟姐妹的焦虑症：对焦虑症病因的影响。

目的 确定威廉姆斯综合征 (WS) 儿童、年龄最接近的兄弟姐妹和母亲的焦虑症患病率，并检查这些群体中焦虑的预测因素。方法 评估焦虑症的患病率，并与一般人群进行比较。结果 与一般人群中的儿童相比，患有 WS 的儿童的特定恐惧症、广泛性焦虑症 (GAD) 和分离焦虑症的患病率显着更高。虽然母亲的 GAD 患病率高于人口对照组，但过多的原因是母亲在 WS 孩子出生后发病。兄弟姐妹的比率与一般人群相似。结论 这种发现模式表明 WS 区域中存在一个基因，该基因的缺失易患焦虑症。