Comparing the Results of Developmental Screening of 4 to 60-Month-Old Children in Tehran Using Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status and Ages and Stages Questionnaires

Objectives This research was designed to evaluate the developmental status of children aged 4 to 60 months in Tehran city by two parent-based developmental screening questionnaires, parents evaluation of developmental status (PEDS) and ages and stages questionnaires (ASQ), and also to determine the consistency coefficient between these two tests. Methods In this cross-sectional study, PEDS and ASQ were performed on 648 children (350 boys and 298 girls), aged 4 to 60 (mean, 23.5 ± 16.10) months at four health centers in Tehran city. Results Developmental disorders were observed in 23.1% of children (4.6% delayed and 18.5% suspicious), who were examined by PEDS, and in 26.4% of children, who were examined by ASQ (14.7% delayed and 11.7% suspicious). The estimated values of kappa measure of agreement and Pearson Chi-Square for the results of the two screening tests were 0.30 (P < 0.001) and 115.98 (P < 0.001), respectively. The results of these tests were similar in 93.3%, 94% and 91% of cases in fine motor, gross motor and language domains of development, respectively. Due to the rather large sample size and similarity of the screening results by both questionnaires in 71.5% of cases, it is possible to conclude that this measure is an acceptable one. Conclusions This study showed that PEDS and ASQ have acceptable agreement, thus it seems that PEDS can be used for children’s developmental screening especially in child care visits.