Toddler Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy

[EN] Great efforts focus on early detection of autism spectrum disorder, although some scientists and policy-makers have questioned early universal screening. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the different screening tools. Several electronic databases were use...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Sánchez García, Ana Belén, Galindo Villardón, Purificación, Nieto Librero, Ana Belén, Martín Rodero, Helena, Robins, Diana L.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repository:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/154405
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/154405
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:M-CHAT 
Autism
Screening tools
Meta-analysis
Systematic review
HSROC
Description
Summary:[EN] Great efforts focus on early detection of autism spectrum disorder, although some scientists and policy-makers have questioned early universal screening. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the different screening tools. Several electronic databases were used to identify published studies. A Bayesian model was used to estimate the screening accuracy. The pooled sensitivity was 0.72 (95% CI 0.61-0.81), and the specificity was 0.98 (95% CI 0.97-0.99). Subgroup analyses to remove heterogeneity indicated sensitivity was 0.77 (95% CI 0.69-0.84), and specificity was 0.99 (95% CI 0.97-0.99; SD ≤ 0.01). Level 1 screening tools for ASD showed consistent statistically significant results and therefore are adequate to detect autism at 14-36 months.