Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37957611›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2023

Usefulness of the autism spectrum quotient (AQ) in screening for autism spectrum disorder and social communication disorder.

Kiyohiro Yoshinaga, Jun Egawa, Yuichiro Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kasahara, Atsunori Sugimoto, Toshiyuki Someya

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Kiyohiro YoshinagaDepartment of Psychiatry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Jun EgawaDepartment of Psychiatry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan. jeg5414@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.
Yuichiro WatanabeDepartment of Psychiatry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Hiroyuki KasaharaDepartment of Psychiatry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Atsunori SugimotoDepartment of Psychiatry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Toshiyuki SomeyaDepartment of Psychiatry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 757 Asahimachidori-ichibancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital · JPNiigata University · JPInternational University of Japan · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SCD) were described as a new category of psychiatry nosography. SCD involves impairments in social communication and social interaction but not restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. The autism spectrum quotient (AQ) was developed to screen for autism tendencies in adults with normal intelligence. However, AQ cutoff scores for screening ASD and SCD in the DSM-5 have not been established. This study examined whether the Japanese version of the AQ (AQ-J) total scores could discriminate between an ASD group, an SCD group, and a neurotypical (NT) group.

methodsParticipants were 127 ASD patients, 52 SCD patients, and 49 NT individuals. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to examine AQ-J total score cutoff values to distinguish between ASD and NT groups, SCD and NT groups, and ASD and SCD groups.

resultsIn the ROC analysis for the ASD and NT groups, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.96, and the optimum cutoff value was 23 points (sensitivity 92.9%, specificity 85.7%). The AUC for the SCD and NT groups was 0.89, and the optimum cutoff value was 22 points (sensitivity 84.6%, specificity 85.7%). The AUC for the ASD and SCD groups was 0.75; the optimum cutoff value was 32 points (sensitivity 67.7%, specificity 71.2%).

conclusionOur findings suggest the usefulness of the AQ-J in screening for ASD and SCD.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderSocial Communication DisorderAdultHumansPsychometricsROC CurveAutism spectrum disorderAutism spectrum quotientReceiver operating characteristic analysisSocial (pragmatic) communication disorder

Identifiers

PMID37957611
PMCPMC10644653
OpenAlexW4388625847

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.