Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study
BackgroundDelays in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in toddlers and postnatal depression (PND) in mothers are major public health issues. In both cases, early intervention is crucial. ObjectiveWe aimed to assess if a mobile app named Malo can...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2022-05-01
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| Series: | JMIR mHealth and uHealth |
| Online Access: | https://mhealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e38181 |
| _version_ | 1797735037196566528 |
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| author | Fabrice Denis Laura Maurier Kevin Carillo Roxana Ologeanu-Taddei Anne-Lise Septans Agnes Gepner Florian Le Goff Madhu Desbois Baptiste Demurger Denise Silber Jean-David Zeitoun Guedalia Peretz Assuied Olivier Bonnot |
| author_facet | Fabrice Denis Laura Maurier Kevin Carillo Roxana Ologeanu-Taddei Anne-Lise Septans Agnes Gepner Florian Le Goff Madhu Desbois Baptiste Demurger Denise Silber Jean-David Zeitoun Guedalia Peretz Assuied Olivier Bonnot |
| author_sort | Fabrice Denis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundDelays in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in toddlers and postnatal depression (PND) in mothers are major public health issues. In both cases, early intervention is crucial.
ObjectiveWe aimed to assess if a mobile app named Malo can reduce delay in the recognition of NDD and PND.
MethodsWe performed an observational, cross-sectional, data-based study in a population of young parents with a minimum of 1 child under 3 years of age at the time of inclusion and using Malo on a regular basis. We included the first 4000 users matching the criteria and agreeing to participate between November 11, 2021, and January 14, 2022. Parents received monthly questionnaires via the app, assessing skills on sociability, hearing, vision, motricity, language of their infants, and possible autism spectrum disorder. Mothers were also requested to answer regular questionnaires regarding PND, from 4-28 weeks after childbirth. When any patient-reported outcomes matched predefined criteria, an in-app notification was sent to the user, recommending the booking of an appointment with their family physician or pediatrician.
The main outcomes were the median age of the infant at the time of notification for possible NDD and the median time of PND notifications after childbirth. One secondary outcome was the relevance of the NDD notification for a consultation as assessed by the physicians.
ResultsAmong 4242 children assessed by 5309 questionnaires, 613 (14.5%) had at least 1 disorder requiring a consultation. The median age of notification for possible autism spectrum, vision, audition, socialization, language, or motor disorders was 11, 9, 17, 12, 22, and 4 months, respectively. The sensitivity of the alert notifications of suspected NDDs as assessed by the physicians was 100%, and the specificity was 73.5%. Among 907 mothers who completed a PND questionnaire, highly probable PND was detected in 151 (16.6%) mothers, and the median time of detection was 8-12 weeks.
ConclusionsThe algorithm-based alert suggesting NDD was highly sensitive with good specificity as assessed by real-life practitioners. The app was also efficient in the early detection of PND. Our results suggest that the regular use of this multidomain familial smartphone app would permit the early detection of NDD and PND.
Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04958174; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04958174 |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:53:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e71097d31b24038bcb4bf63ca717c66 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2291-5222 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:53:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR mHealth and uHealth |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e71097d31b24038bcb4bf63ca717c662023-08-28T21:47:15ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR mHealth and uHealth2291-52222022-05-01105e3818110.2196/38181Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional StudyFabrice Denishttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2190-7782Laura Maurierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4790-3069Kevin Carillohttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9714-1621Roxana Ologeanu-Taddeihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9797-325XAnne-Lise Septanshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9707-270XAgnes Gepnerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2511-8366Florian Le Goffhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9367-9769Madhu Desboishttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6192-3878Baptiste Demurgerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9703-1166Denise Silberhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7614-7170Jean-David Zeitounhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9590-3461Guedalia Peretz Assuiedhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0583-5990Olivier Bonnothttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0005-4765 BackgroundDelays in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in toddlers and postnatal depression (PND) in mothers are major public health issues. In both cases, early intervention is crucial. ObjectiveWe aimed to assess if a mobile app named Malo can reduce delay in the recognition of NDD and PND. MethodsWe performed an observational, cross-sectional, data-based study in a population of young parents with a minimum of 1 child under 3 years of age at the time of inclusion and using Malo on a regular basis. We included the first 4000 users matching the criteria and agreeing to participate between November 11, 2021, and January 14, 2022. Parents received monthly questionnaires via the app, assessing skills on sociability, hearing, vision, motricity, language of their infants, and possible autism spectrum disorder. Mothers were also requested to answer regular questionnaires regarding PND, from 4-28 weeks after childbirth. When any patient-reported outcomes matched predefined criteria, an in-app notification was sent to the user, recommending the booking of an appointment with their family physician or pediatrician. The main outcomes were the median age of the infant at the time of notification for possible NDD and the median time of PND notifications after childbirth. One secondary outcome was the relevance of the NDD notification for a consultation as assessed by the physicians. ResultsAmong 4242 children assessed by 5309 questionnaires, 613 (14.5%) had at least 1 disorder requiring a consultation. The median age of notification for possible autism spectrum, vision, audition, socialization, language, or motor disorders was 11, 9, 17, 12, 22, and 4 months, respectively. The sensitivity of the alert notifications of suspected NDDs as assessed by the physicians was 100%, and the specificity was 73.5%. Among 907 mothers who completed a PND questionnaire, highly probable PND was detected in 151 (16.6%) mothers, and the median time of detection was 8-12 weeks. ConclusionsThe algorithm-based alert suggesting NDD was highly sensitive with good specificity as assessed by real-life practitioners. The app was also efficient in the early detection of PND. Our results suggest that the regular use of this multidomain familial smartphone app would permit the early detection of NDD and PND. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04958174; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04958174https://mhealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e38181 |
| spellingShingle | Fabrice Denis Laura Maurier Kevin Carillo Roxana Ologeanu-Taddei Anne-Lise Septans Agnes Gepner Florian Le Goff Madhu Desbois Baptiste Demurger Denise Silber Jean-David Zeitoun Guedalia Peretz Assuied Olivier Bonnot Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study JMIR mHealth and uHealth |
| title | Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study |
| title_full | Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study |
| title_short | Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders of Toddlers and Postnatal Depression by Mobile Health App: Observational Cross-sectional Study |
| title_sort | early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders of toddlers and postnatal depression by mobile health app observational cross sectional study |
| url | https://mhealth.jmir.org/2022/5/e38181 |
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