Predictive properties of the A-TAC inventory when screening for childhood-onset neurodevelopmental problems in a population-based sample

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Thomas Nilsson¹  Nóra Kerekes²  Sebastian Lundström³  Eva Norén Selinus⁴  Clara Hellner Gumpert⁴  Maria Råstam⁵  Tomas Larson⁵  Henrik Anckarsäter⁶  Paul Lichtenstein⁷ 

[1] Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden;Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden;Swedish Prison and Probation Service, Research & Development Unit, Gothenburg, Sweden;Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden;Swedish Prison and Probation Service, Research & Development Unit, Gothenburg, Sweden;Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center (GNC), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden;Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö (TL; HA), Lund, (MR), Sweden;Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö (TL; HA), Lund, (MR), Sweden;Center for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden;Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: Autism;    Tics;    AD/HD, and other Co-morbidities inventory;    A-TAC;    Screening;    Mental disorders diagnosed in childhood;    Co-morbidity;    Cohort studies;    Predictive value of tests;    Sensitivity and specificity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-233

 received in 2012-10-17, accepted in 2013-09-17,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIdentifying children with childhood-onset neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs, defined here as autism spectrum disorders [ASDs], attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD], tic disorders [TDs], learning disorders [LDs] and development coordination disorder), using easily administered screening instruments, is a prerequisite for epidemiological research. Such instruments are also clinically useful to prioritize children for comprehensive assessments, to screen risk groups, and to follow controls.Autism–Tics, ADHD, and other Co-morbidities inventory (A-TAC) was developed to meet these requirements; here the A-TAC’s prospective and psychometric properties are examined, when used in a population-based, epidemiological setting.MethodsSince 2004, parents of all Swedish twins have been asked to take part in an ongoing, nation-wide twin study (The Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden). The study includes the A-TAC, carried out as a telephone interview with parents of twins aged 9 or 12. In the present study, screen-positive twins from three birth year cohorts (1993–1995) were invited to a comprehensive clinical follow-up (blinded for previous screening results) together with their co-twins and randomly selected, healthy controls at age 15 (Total N = 452).ResultsSensitivity and specificity of A-TAC scores for predicting later clinical diagnoses were good to excellent overall, with values of the area under the receiver operating characteristics curves ranging from 0.77 (AD/HD) to 0.91 (ASDs). Among children who were screen-positive for an ASD, 48% received a clinical diagnosis of ASDs. For AD/HD, the corresponding figure was also 48%, for LDs 16%, and for TDs 60%. Between 4% and 35% of screen-positive children did not receive any diagnosis at the clinical follow-up three years later. Among screen-negative controls, prevalence of ASDs, AD/HD, LDs, and TDs was 0%, 7%, 4%, and 2%, respectively.ConclusionsThe A–TAC appeared to be a valid instrument to assess NDPs in this population-based, longitudinal study. It has good-to-excellent psychometric properties, with an excellent ability to distinguish NDPs (mainly ASDs) from non-NDPs at least three years after the screening evaluations, although specific diagnoses did not correspond closely to actual clinical diagnoses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Larson et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013