Nationwide study to screen children for conditions like ADHD, depression

IMH-led initiative seeks to track 40,000 households for up to 10 years

- Joyce Teo

A new nationwide research initiative will screen children and adolescents aged eight to 18 for not just mental health conditions but also neurodevelopmental ones like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and track them over a period of up to 10 years.

The Building Resilience and Intervention (Brave) study by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) will focus on four conditions commonly seen in the institute's child guidance clinics - ASD, ADHD, anxiety and depression.

The ambitious project targets 40,000 households in Singapore with at least one young Singapore citizen or permanent resident born between 2007 and 2016.

Unlike nationwide studies that rely on self-reports of signs and symptoms, the Brave study will offer not only screening, but also a diagnostic test for those who screen positive for at least one of the four conditions. This will be done in the first two years, or the first phase, of the study.

The initial online screening questionnaire may take up to 30 minutes to complete. The researchers will collect demographic information so that they can identify both protective and risk factors, such as potential challenges faced by the family, including conflicts, divorce and financial issues.

If required, study participants will be invited to undergo a comprehensive assessment to establish a diagnosis, said Dr Lim Choon Guan, chief of IMH's department of developmental psychiatry and the study's principal investigator.

The participants will get a report at no charge. Assessments for ASD and ADHD can cost several hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, depending on the required tests.