Intelligence Quotient (Iq) In Patients With Congenital Adrenal-Hyperplasia (Cah), Their Parents And Healthy Siblings

The IQ (Hamburg-Wechsler) was determined in 33 patients with CAH (15m, 18 f) aged 6 to 36 yrs (21-hydroxylase deficiency, 16 with, 17 without salt-wasting), in 29 healthy siblings (8m, 21 f) and in 48 parents (21m, 27f). The mean IQ in the parents was 104 ± 9 (SD), in the CAH-patients 111 ± 14 and in the siblings 114 ± 11. The values in patients and siblings were higher (P < 0.001) than in the parents, but the difference between patients and siblings was not significant. These findings do not support an influence of androgens on the IQ nor the hypothesis of coupled genes for CAH and intelligence. The Hamburg-Wechsler normal values were established 21 years ago. The changed environmental factors probably account for the generation difference. It is concluded that the IQ in CAH-patients is not different from that in normal children.