Uso de un cuestionario breve para el diagnóstico de deficiencia atencional

Introduction. American Psychiatric Association has defined the DSM-IV ADD diagnostic criteria and symptoms, however, there is not a quantitative instrument to evaluate them in Spanish speaker population. Objective. To evaluate the utility of a ADD checklist in a Colombian schooling population. Patients and methods. A randomized and stratified by sex, age and socioeconomic level, 4 to 17-year old, sample of 540 schooling subjects was selected from Manizales City, Colombia. An ADD checklist was applied to the parents of these subjects. Results. The reliability of the different dimensions of the questionnaire (18 total items, 9 items for inattention, 9 for hyperactivity-impulsivity, and 6 for hyperactivity) were strong in both sex and in all age groups (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient 0.71-0.92). Only the impulsivity dimension formed by three variable showed fairly weak reliability (0.42-0.79 Cronbach’s alpha). Some factorial analysis found two dimensions. In the male sample first dimension (inattention) explain around the 45% of the variance, and the second dimension (hyperactivity-impulsivity) explain around the 12 to 15% of the variance in the different age groups. In the female sample the first dimension was hyperactivity-impulsivity and the second dimension was inattention. A categorical (yes or not) scored questionnaire found a ADD estimated prevalence of 16.1, distributed in type I (combined) 3.3%, in type II (inattentive) 4.3%, and type III (hyperactive-impulsive) 8.5%. Male prevalence was 19.8% and female 12.4%. Conclusions. ADD checklist Spanish version showed a strong reliability. A bidimensional stable structured was found. A clinical related ADD prevalence was presented, it was much higher than the prevalence of the developed countries [REV NEUROL 1999; 28: 365-72].