A Validity Study of the Korean Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Screening for Developmental Delay in Preterm Infant

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the validity of the Korean Ages and Stages Questionnaire (K-ASQ) in premature infants. METHODS: Infants with a gestational age of less than 37 weeks were assessed with K-ASQ and Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III (BSID-III) at the outpatient clinic of Seoul National University Children's Hospital between October 30, 2006 and August 1, 2010. Less than 1 standard deviation of the ASQ was defined as positive, and the results were compared with those of BSID-III. RESULTS: The mean gestational age of subjects in the study group was 28+/-2.87 weeks (median, 28.43 weeks; range, 23.57-35.86 weeks), and the mean birth weight was 1,027+/-363 g (median, 950 g; range, 480-2,870 g). The sensitivity of K-ASQ at 8 month was 0.2, and the specificity was 0.93. The sensitivity of K-ASQ at 18 months was 0.72, and the specificity was 0.94. The validity of each of the 4 matched subunits was separately compared, and it also had a high specificity and a low sensitivity. In addition, K-ASQ showed a higher sensitivity at 18 months than at 8 months. CONCLUSION: ASQ was developed to screen the general population, and its specificity has been powered. The specificity was also proven in our study. The results of this study suggest that although screening use of K-ASQ in preterm infants may have some limitations, the specificities at 8 and 18 months can be clinically implicated. Further studies are needed to confirm our results.