Early and repeated screening detects children with persistent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

This study is part of the prospective longitudinal, population-based Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study, with a diagnostic parent interview at 3.5  years and follow-up with parent questionnaires at ages 5 and 8 years (n = 707). We identified a group classified with ADHD at all three time points (persistent ADHD). We then used the Child Behavior Checklist ADHD DSM-oriented scale at ages 3.5 and 5 years to investigate the accuracies of single- and two-stage screening at different thresholds to identify children with persistent ADHD. About 30% of the children were classified with ADHD at least once across time (at ages 3.5, 5, and/or 8 years), but only 4% (n = 30) had persistent ADHD. At all thresholds, the two-stage screening identified children with persistent ADHD more accurately than single screening, mainly due to a substantial reduction in false positives. Only a small group of children were classified with persistent ADHD from preschool to s chool age, underlining that future screening studies should distinguish this group from those with fluctuating symptoms when estimating screening accuracies. We recommend a two-stage screening process to reduce false positives.
Source: European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research