FASDetect as a machine learning-based screening app for FASD in youth with ADHD

Fetal alcohol-spectrum disorder (FASD) is underdiagnosed and often misdiagnosed as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Here, we develop a screening tool for FASD in youth with ADHD symptoms. To develop the prediction model, medical record data from a German University outpatient unit are assessed including 275 patients aged 0–19 years old with FASD with or without ADHD and 170 patients with ADHD without FASD aged 0–19 years old. We train 6 machine learning models based on 13 selected variables and evaluate their performance. Random forest models yield the best prediction models with a cross-validated AUC of 0.92 (95% confidence interval [0.84, 0.99]). Follow-up analyses indicate that a random forest model with 6 variables – body length and head circumference at birth, IQ, socially intrusive behaviour, poor memory and sleep disturbance – yields equivalent predictive accuracy. We implement the prediction model in a web-based app called FASDetect – a user-friendly, clinically scalable FASD risk calculator that is freely available at https://fasdetect.dhc-lab.hpi.de.