Concurrent and predictive validity of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale and the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 administered to infants born preterm in Norway

Tordis Ustad; Merethe Brandal; Suzann K Campbell; Gay L Girolami; Charlotte Sinding-Larsen; Gunn Kristin Øberg

doi:10.1186/s12887-023-04402-6

Concurrent and predictive validity of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale and the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 administered to infants born preterm in Norway

BMC Pediatr. 2023 Nov 23;23(1):591. doi: 10.1186/s12887-023-04402-6.

Authors

Tordis Ustad^{1

2}, Merethe Brandal³, Suzann K Campbell⁴, Gay L Girolami^{4

5}, Charlotte Sinding-Larsen⁶, Gunn Kristin Øberg^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Clinic of Rehabilitation, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, St. Olavs Hospital, Postboks 3250 Torgarden, 7006, Trondheim, Norway. tordis.ustad@ntnu.no.
² Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Postboks 8900, 7491, Trondheim, Norway. tordis.ustad@ntnu.no.
³ Clinic of Rehabilitation, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, St. Olavs Hospital, Postboks 3250 Torgarden, 7006, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1301 W. Madison Street Apt.526, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
⁵ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 West Taylor Street | 455 AHSB, MC 898, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
⁶ Section of Physiotherapy, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Postbos 4950, Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway.
⁷ Department of Clinical Therapeutic Services, University Hospital North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
⁸ Department of Health and Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Postboks 6050 Langnes, 9037, Tromsø, Norway.

Abstract

Background: The correlation between the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2) has not previously been assessed in Norwegian infants. Our purpose was to investigate the concurrent validity of the AIMS and the PDMS-2 in a group of high-risk infants, and to investigate the predictive validity of the two tests for atypical motor function at 24 months post term age (PTA).

Methods: This is a retrospective study of the AIMS and the PDMS-2 administered to infants born preterm with gestational age ≤ 32 weeks (n = 139) who had participated in a randomized controlled trial of early parent-administered physiotherapy. The infants' motor development had been assessed using the AIMS and the PDMS-2 at 6- and 12-months. The primary outcome was PDMS-2 at 24-months PTA. To explore the correlation between the two tests we used Spearman's rho. Bland Altman plots were used to detect if there were systematic differences between the measurements. Receiver-operating characteristics curves were used to calculate area under the curve as an estimate of diagnostic accuracy of the AIMS and the PDMS- with respect to motor outcome at 24 months.

Results: The correlation between the AIMS and the PDMS-2 (total motor and locomotion subscale), at 6 months, was r = 0.44 and r = 0.76, and at 12 months r = 0.56 and r = 0.80 respectively. The predictive validity for atypical motor function at 24 months, assessed using the area under the curve at 6- and at 12- months, was for the AIMS 0.87 and 0.86, respectively, and for the PDMS-2 locomotion subscale 0.82 and 0.76 respectively.

Conclusion: The correlation between the AIMS and the PDMS-2 locomotion subscale, at 6- and 12- months PTA, was good to excellent in a group of infants born preterm in Norway. And the AIMS and the locomotion subscale of the PDMS-2 were equally good predictors for atypical motor outcomes at 24 months PTA. These findings indicate that the AIMS and the locomotion subscale of the PDM-2, could be used interchangeable when assessing motor development in infants at 6- or 12 months of age.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01089296.

Keywords: Motor function assessment; Preterm infants; Validity study.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alberta
Child Development*
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Motor Skills*
Parturition
Pregnancy
Retrospective Studies

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01089296