[Population-based diagnostic study to compare the DSM-IV and the Questionnaire for screening Latin American schoolchildren and adolescents for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].
OBJECTIVE
To detect attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children between 4 and 14 years of age by means of the Questionnaire for screening Latin American schoolchildren and adolescents for ADHD (QLSA-ADHD) and the criteria of the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition, ADHD version (DSM-IV ADHD).


METHODS
A prospective, cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted to detect ADHD in the child population that visited the outpatient department at the Rodolfo Nieto Padron Children's Hospital. These children were administered two surveys: the DSM-IV ADHD and the QLSA-ADHD. The results were analysed using graphs and test statistics from the SPSS package, such as the correlation coefficient and chi squared.


RESULTS
The questionnaires were analysed by finding the overall sum of the criteria of the 200 children included in the DSM-IV ADHD and the average score values were found to be 64 'yes' (32%) and 137 'no' (68%). The QLSA-ADHD was evaluated in the same way and the average was 50 'yes' (25%) and 149 'no' (75%). The chi squared test was then performed for the two, the result being 1.762, with 1 degree of freedom and p > 0.05; that is to say, there was no significant difference between the scores obtained in both surveys. With the QLSA-ADHD, 25% of children with ADHD were detected, whereas the figure rose slightly to 25.5% (51 patients) with the DSM-IV. The chi squared test was conducted between the results from the two surveys, the value being 3.405, with 1 degree of freedom and p > 0.05.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings show that, in our population, there is no difference between the QLSA-ADHD and the DSM-IV for detecting ADHD.
Cornelio-Nieto
J O
JO
Departamento de Neurología Pediátrica, Hospital de Alta Especialidad del Niño Dr. Rodolfo Nieto Padrón, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, México. drovidio1959@yahoo.com.mx
Borbolla-Sala
M E
ME
García-Valdovinos
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires