title: Predictive value of the parent-completed ASQ for school difficulties in preterm-born children <35 weeks' GA at five years of age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preterm infants are at greater risk of developmental impairment and require close follow-up for early and optimal care.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the present study was to determine from which age the parental Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) allows detection of school difficulties in preterm children <35 weeks' gestational age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preterm children from the regional Loire Infant Follow-up Team network were evaluated with the Global School Adaptation (GSA) assessment tool at 5 years of age and at least one parental-completed ASQ at 18, 24, or 36 months. Children belonging to the first decile of the GSA score (<38) were considered to have severe school difficulties. Using overall ASQ scores as continuous variables, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated at every age in order to identify preterm children with severe school difficulties.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GSA scores were obtained in 1,775 infants at 5 years of age, and at least one ASQ score at 18, 24, or 36 months was completed. Upon ROC analysis, we observed that the 18-, 24-, and 36-month ASQ scores produced respective area under the ROC curve values of 0.66 (0.64-0.69), 0.72 (0.70-0.75), and 0.77 (0.75-0.80) for predicting a GSA score in the first decile. An ASQ cutoff value of 255 at 36 months showed optimal discriminatory power for identifying significant school difficulties at 5 years of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 36-month ASQ is a simple and cost-effective tool that can be employed to help predict future severe school difficulties at 5 years of age in preterm-born children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halbwachs
authors.forename: Jean-Baptiste
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nguyen The Tich
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gascoin
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chauty-Frondas
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Branger
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rouger
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Roze
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flamant
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development*; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007360:Intelligence; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires