The Role of Executive Functions in differentiation Children with Intestinal Parasitic Diseases and Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder in Karaj

 In recent years, more attention has been paid to the cognitive impairments of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and several studies have been conducted in this field. One of the areas that have been considered in these studies is the defect in executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of executive functions in differentiation children with intestinal parasitic diseases and ADHD in Karaj city.

 This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The statistical population consisted of all children referred to the Radmin Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center of Karaj in 2019. Convenient sampling was performed on 120 children in groups of 40 members, including healthy children, children with ADHD and intestinal parasite infection group. Research tools included diagnostic interview, Conners grading scale, continuous performance test, n-back test and parasitic test. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 23 using logistic regression and diagnostic analysis.

 Findings showed that logistic coefficients of active memory in children with intestinal parasite and active memory and attention retention in children with ADHD were significant. Also, healthy children and children with ADHD (85%) and children with intestinal parasitic disease (52.5%) had the highest accuracy in predicting respectively. based on the proposed model they were correctly classified.

 Just as hyperactivity has a pattern of dysfunction performance in executive functions such as working memory and attentional retention, intestinal parasite-related diseases can also have such symptoms. In fact, the symptoms of a child with intestinal parasite are very similar to the symptoms of a person with ADHD, which can lead to errors in assessment and diagnosis.