An Exploratory Study of the Intellectual Functioning of Neurological and Myxoedematous Cretins in China

Two small samples of subjects, from an iodine deficient area in China, displaying typical features of neurological and myxoedematous cretinism, were assessed using a combination of the Ruth Griffiths Development Scales and the Hiskey Nebraska Test of Learning Ability. an opportunistic sample of subjects, reasonably assumed to be intellectually and physically normal was used for comparison purposes. Results showed the neurological group scored significantly lower on this instrument than the myxoedematous group. Subjects in the comparison sample tested within the average range for Western norms. The level of intellectual capacity was found to vary with neurological and morphological signs.