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Symptoms of childhood anxiety disorders include activation of bodily stress systems to fear stimuli, indicating alterations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Self-reported somatic symptoms are frequently reported, while studies including objective measures of ANS are scarce and show inconsistent results. Even less studied is the relationship between subjective and objective measures of somatic symptoms in anxious children. Increased knowledge of this relationship may have relevance for treatment programmes for anxiety disorders. This cross-sectional study examined subjective and objective measures of ANS responsiveness in a clinical sample of children with anxiety disorders (7-13 years; n = 23) and in healthy controls (HC; n = 22) with equal distributions of gender and age. The subjective measure used was the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, which includes a subscale on somatic symptoms. The objective measures consisted of an orthostatic challenge (head-up tilt test), and an isometric muscular exercise (handgrip) while the participants were attached to the Task Force Monitor, a combined hardware and software device used for continuous, non-invasive recording of cardiovascular variables. The anxiety disorder group reported significantly more somatic symptoms than HCs (both by mother and child reports). In contrast, no relevant differences in cardiovascular variables were demonstrated between the anxiety group and HCs. Finally, there were no significant correlations between subjective and objective measures in either group. Because of the small sample size, the findings must be interpreted carefully, but the results do not support previous reports of functional alterations of the ANS in anxious children.

ObjectivesExecutive problems in children and youth with epilepsy influence their ability to handle important aspects of daily life activities. The present study sought to explore factors associated with executive problems for patients with epilepsy in this age group.MethodsThe cohort consisted of 97 consecutive patients at the National Centre for Epilepsy in Norway, aged 10–19 years, with focal or genetic generalized epilepsy. All underwent tests of executive functions (D‐KEFS), the Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Function (BRIEF), and screening for psychiatric symptoms, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).ResultsParent‐reported cognitive executive dysfunction (BRIEF, Metacognitive Index) was the strongest independent predictor for tested executive dysfunction and vice versa. Furthermore, male gender correlated strongest with parent‐reported behavioral regulation problems (BRIEF, Behavioral Regulation Index) along with borderline/pathological score on the SDQ and parent‐reported cognitive executive dysfunction.ConclusionsA strong association between parent‐reported cognitive executive dysfunction and tested executive dysfunction was found. Male gender correlated strongest with parent‐reported behavioral regulation problems. The latter was probably related to a higher frequency of symptoms associated with psychopathology among the boys than the girls. The frequency of executive deficits according to the different modes of measurement varied from 16% to 43%, suggesting that they capture different aspects of behavior under the executive umbrella.