Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34980240›Full record

ArticleMolecular autism2022

Autism screening at 18 months of age: a comparison of the Q-CHAT-10 and M-CHAT screeners.

Raymond Sturner, Barbara Howard, Paul Bergmann, Shana Attar, Lydia Stewart-Artz, Kerry Bet, Carrie Allison, Simon Baron-Cohen

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular autism, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

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  7. ScreeningPaL: LLM-NLP Enabled Early Autism Detection Method from Caregiver's Free-Text Input.AMIA Joint Summits on Translational Science proceedings. AMIA Joint Summits on Translational Science · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Raymond SturnerPediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. rsturner@childhealthcare.org.ORCID 0000-0002-4029-5048
Barbara HowardPediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.
Paul BergmannCHADIS, Inc., 6017 Altamont Place, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Shana AttarCHADIS, Inc., 6017 Altamont Place, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Lydia Stewart-ArtzCenter for Promotion of Child Development Through Primary Care, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Kerry BetCenter for Promotion of Child Development Through Primary Care, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Carrie AllisonAutism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Simon Baron-CohenAutism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Johns Hopkins University · USUniversity of Cambridge · GBForesight Science & Technology (United States) · USUniversity of Washington · US

Funding

Improving Accuracy and Accessibility of Early Autism ScreeningR44MH085399 · NIMH · TOTAL CHILD HEALTH, INC. · PI HOWARD, BARBARA JO · 2009 to 2016
$3.7M
Validation of the online Toddler Autism and Development Adaptive Screener (TADAS) at 18 monthsR44HD104973 · NICHD · TOTAL CHILD HEALTH, INC. · PI HOWARD, BARBARA JO, STURNER, RAYMOND · 2021 to 2023
$1.9M
Department of HealthNICHD NIH HHS R44 HD104973NIMH NIH HHS R44 MH085399Wellcome Trust 214322\Z\18\Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAutism screening is recommended at 18- and 24-month pediatric well visits. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised (M-CHAT-R) authors recommend a follow-up interview (M-CHAT-R/F) when positive. M-CHAT-R/F may be less accurate for 18-month-olds than 24-month-olds and accuracy for identification prior to two years is not known in samples that include children screening negative. Since autism symptoms may emerge gradually, ordinally scoring items based on the full range of response options, such as in the 10-item version of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT-10), might better capture autism signs than the dichotomous (i.e., yes/no) items in M-CHAT-R or the pass/fail scoring of Q-CHAT-10 items. The aims of this study were to determine and compare the accuracy of the M-CHAT-R/F and the Q-CHAT-10 and to describe the accuracy of the ordinally scored Q-CHAT-10 (Q-CHAT-10-O) for predicting autism in a sample of children who were screened at 18 months.

methodsThis is a community pediatrics validation study with screen positive (n = 167) and age- and practice-matched screen negative children (n = 241) recruited for diagnostic evaluations completed prior to 2 years old. Clinical diagnosis of autism was based on results of in-person diagnostic autism evaluations by research reliable testers blind to screening results and using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) Toddler Module and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) per standard guidelines.

resultsWhile the M-CHAT-R/F had higher specificity and PPV compared to M-CHAT-R, Q-CHAT-10-O showed higher sensitivity than M-CHAT-R/F and Q-CHAT-10. LIMITATIONS: Many parents declined participation and the sample is over-represented by higher educated parents. Results cannot be extended to older ages.

conclusionsLimitations of the currently recommended two-stage M-CHAT-R/F at the 18-month visit include low sensitivity with minimal balancing benefit of improved PPV from the follow-up interview. Ordinal, rather than dichotomous, scoring of autism screening items appears to be beneficial at this age. The Q-CHAT-10-O with ordinal scoring shows advantages to M-CHAT-R/F with half the number of items, no requirement for a follow-up interview, and improved sensitivity. Yet, Q-CHAT-10-O sensitivity is less than M-CHAT-R (without follow-up) and specificity is less than the two-stage procedure. Such limitations are consistent with recognition that screening needs to recur beyond this age.

Indexed as

Autistic DisorderChecklistChildHumansMass ScreeningAutism screeningDevelopmental screeningM-CHATQ-CHAT

Identifiers

PMID34980240
PMCPMC8722322
OpenAlexW4205600405

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.