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Screening for Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Japanese 18- and 36-Month Health Check-Ups: Utility and Reproducibility
Yuhei Hatakenaka1,2,3, Koutaro Hachiya4, Christopher Gillberg3
1Faculty of Health Science, Suzuka University of Medical Science, Suzuka, Mie, Japan.
Insights
The ESSENCE Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) effectively screens for early neurodevelopmental disorders in Japanese infants. Professional assessments using ESSENCE-Q are reliable at 18 and 36 months, but maternal input requires professional supplementation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurodevelopment
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health Screening
Background:
- Early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders is crucial for timely intervention.
- The ESSENCE Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) is designed to identify early signs across developmental domains.
- Validating ESSENCE-Q in diverse populations, like Japanese infants, is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility, reliability, accuracy, and reproducibility of the ESSENCE Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) in 18- and 36-month-old Japanese infants and toddlers.
- To assess the performance of ESSENCE-Q completed by mothers, public health nurses, and psychologists.
- To establish optimal cut-off values for ESSENCE-Q in the Japanese population.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal analysis of data from 1373 children at 18- and 36-month health check-ups.
- Independent completion of ESSENCE-Q by mothers (ESSENCE-Q-M), public health nurses (ESSENCE-Q-N), and psychologists (ESSENCE-Q-P).
- Evaluation of effectiveness using receiver operating characteristic curves.
Main Results:
- Overall neurodevelopmental disorder prevalence was 11.2%.
- ESSENCE-Q demonstrated good internal consistency.
- Psychologist-completed ESSENCE-Q (ESSENCE-Q-P) showed the highest performance at 18 months; both nurse- (ESSENCE-Q-N) and psychologist-completed (ESSENCE-Q-P) versions performed excellently at 36 months.
- Maternal completion alone (ESSENCE-Q-M) was insufficient for standalone use.
Conclusions:
- The ESSENCE Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) is a highly useful and reproducible screening tool for professionals conducting 18- and 36-month check-ups.
- ESSENCE-Q completed by mothers requires supplementation with professional assessments for accurate neurodevelopmental disorder screening.
- This study validates ESSENCE-Q as a valuable tool for early detection in Japanese infants and toddlers.
Aim:
The ESSENCE Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) helps detect early neurodevelopmental disorder signs across multiple developmental domains for timely intervention. We evaluated the feasibility, reliability, accuracy and reproducibility of ESSENCE-Q in 18- and 36-month Japanese infants and toddlers.
Methods:
Longitudinal data from 1373 children who participated in 18- and/or 36-month health check-up were analysed. ESSENCE-Q was completed independently by mothers (ESSENCE-Q-M), public health nurses (ESSENCE-Q-N) and psychologists (ESSENCE-Q-P). Its effectiveness was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves, and optimal cut-off values were established.
Results:
The overall neurodevelopmental disorder prevalence was 11.2%. The internal consistency of ESSENCE-Q was good. ESSENCE-Q-P demonstrated the highest performance at 18 months. Both ESSENCE-Q-N and ESSENCE-Q-P demonstrated excellent performance at 36 months. ESSENCE-Q-M is not sufficient for standalone use.
Conclusion:
ESSENCE-Q is a highly useful and reproducible screening tool for professionals for 18- and 36-month check-ups. ESSENCE-Q completed by mothers should be supplemented with professional assessments.
