Can a general health surveillance between birth and 10 months identify children with mental disorder at 1(1/2) year? A case-control study nested in cohort CCC 2000.
Mental health surveillance in infancy was studied in an existing child health surveillance programme with child psychiatric disorder at 1(1/2) year as the outcome.


METHODS
Children considered of concern by community health nurses were cases in a case control study nested in the Copenhagen Child Cohort (CCC 2000). Outcome was mental health status at 1(1/2) year assessed by clinical and standardised strategies, including videotape recordings, parent interviews and the instruments: CBCL 1(1/2)-5, ITSCL, CHAT, Bayley Scales of Infant Development II, PC ERA and PIR-GAS.


RESULTS
The positive predictive value of concern in the first 10 months of living was 24% (CI 17.0-31.9), the negative predictive value was 85% (CI 77.9-89.6) and the sensitivity was 56% (CI 42.4-69.0). Concern about development was significantly associated with the child having a neuro-developmental disorder at 1(1/2) year, and concern about mother-child relationship was associated with emotional, behavioural, eating, and sleeping disturbances.


CONCLUSIONS
A general health surveillance program seems to have potentials to identify infants at risk for mental health problems provided standardised measures and specific training of the involved health professionals.
Skovgaard
Anne Mette
AM
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Centre, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Glostrup 2600, Denmark. ames@glo.regionH.dk
Houmann
Tine
T
Christiansen
Eva
E
Olsen
Else Marie
EM
Landorph
Susanne Lassen
SL
Lichtenberg
Anne
A
Jørgensen
Torben
T
D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D003718:Denmark; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D019959:Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology