Eye Tracking of Social Visual Engagement Predicts Autism Diagnosis
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Sept. 7, 2023 -- Eye tracking-based measurement of social visual engagement is predictive of autism diagnoses by clinical experts in 16- to 30-month-old children, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Warren Jones, Ph.D., from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and colleagues evaluated the performance of eye-tracking measurement of social visual engagement (index test) compared to expert clinical diagnosis in young children referred to specialty autism clinics. The analysis included 475 children (16 to 30 months old) seen at six U.S. specialty centers from April 2018 through May 2019.
The researchers found that across all children, measurement of social visual engagement had a sensitivity of 71.0 percent and specificity of 80.7 percent. In the subgroup of 335 children with an expert clinical autism diagnosis, sensitivity was 78.0 percent and specificity was 85.4 percent. There was a correlation between eye-tracking test results and expert clinical assessments at the individual level for social disability (r = −0.75), verbal ability (r = 0.65), and nonverbal cognitive ability (r = 0.65).
“Eye-tracking–based measurement warrants further evaluation for early diagnosis and assessment of autism in young children referred to specialty clinics,” the authors write.
The study was supported by the Marcus Foundation and the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, and several authors disclosed ties to these foundations, as well as EarliTec Diagnostics, which helped with eye-tracking data processing and analysis.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2023
Read this next
Large Language Models May Aid Emergency Department Triage
TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Large language models (LLMs) could enhance emergency department triage workflows, according to a study published online May 7 in JAMA Network...
Neighborhood Inequity Tied to More People Living With Vision Difficulty, Blindness
TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Residential measures of inequity are associated with a greater number of individuals living with vision difficulty and blindness (VDB), according to a...
Elite Running Tied to Longer Life Expectancy
TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Sub-four-minute mile runners have greater longevity than the general population, with results dating back as far as the 1950s, according to a study...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.