Self-reported executive functioning in adults with congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common prenatal infection and the main infectious cause of neurodevelopmental abnormalities in developed countries. Long-term neuropsychological outcome of cCMV infection is yet not well understood, and follow-up studies on adults screened for CMV at birth are few. The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported executive functioning (EF) in adults with cCMV infection in relation to uninfected controls. All individuals from a universal newborn CMV screening study conducted in Southern Sweden and sampled 1977–85, was invited to participate in a follow-up study. 45/71 individuals (63%) with cCMV infection and 25/46 controls (54%) were enrolled. Participants were aged 34–43 years. Neurological symptoms and neuropsychiatric disabilities were documented through written reports from the original study and a semi-structured study protocol. Executive functioning was evaluated with BRIEF-A (questionnaire). No statistically significant differences were found between groups in self-reported executive functioning, although greater variability in outcomes was observed in the cCMV group. Everyday executive functioning might not be affected at the group level in adults with cCMV infection or may not be adequately captured through self-reports alone. The variability in executive functioning results suggests that individuals with cCMV infection represent a more heterogeneous group compared to the controls. In this unique population-based cohort of adults with cCMV infection, identified through a newborn screening study in Sweden during the1970s–1980s, no signs of impaired self-reported everyday executive functioning were observed at the group level. This suggests that self-reported everyday executive functioning is not significantly affected at the group level in adults with cCMV infection or may not be fully captured through self-reports alone.