title: Assessing Joint Hypermobility in Preschool-Aged Children.
abstract: To provide a revision of the Beighton score adapted for children younger than the age of 5 years, to apply the revised version in a cohort of preschool age children, and to verify the reliability of the revised version in a cohort of preschool children with genetic syndromes associated with hypermobility.
  
  
  
  The revised Beighton score was applied in a population of preschool children to evaluate joint hypermobility in 5 parts of the body, bilaterally (passive dorsiflexion of the fifth finger; passive hyperextension of the elbow; passive hyperextension of the knee; passive apposition of the thumb to the flexor side of the forearm; passive dorsiflexion of the ankle joint). The frequency distribution of the total scores was calculated with a range between 0 and 10.
  
  
  
  A total of 284 healthy preschool children (146 boys and 138 girls) and 26 preschool children with genetic disorders (15 boys and 11 girls) were assessed. Mean age was 33.6 ± 12.7 months. A score ≤4 was found in more than 90% of the whole cohort; therefore, a cut-off score >4 was used to identify hypermobility. Twenty-two of the 284 (7%) healthy children and 23 of the 26 children (89%) with genetic syndromes associated with hypermobility had a score >4. The joints reporting a greater incidence of hypermobility were "apposition of the thumb to the forearm" and "passive dorsiflexion of the ankle," in 34% and 22% respectively. No differences related to sex or age were observed.
  
  
  
  The revised version of the Beighton score can be used to define generalized hypermobility for children up to 5 years of age and to assess and follow-up longitudinally patients with isolated hypermobility or those in whom the laxity is associated with other clinical features.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lucibello
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Musto
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy; Unit of Child and Adolescent NeuroPsychiatry, Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Neurogenetics, University "Campus Bio-Medico," Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brogna
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrantini
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Velli
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cota
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy; National Centre of Services and Research for Prevention of Blindness and Rehabilitation of Visually Impaired, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mercuri
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Beighton score; healthy children; hyperlaxity