PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Barry Wright AU - Mark Mon-Williams AU - Brian Kelly AU - Stefan Williams AU - David Sims AU - Faisal Mushtaq AU - Kuldeep Sohal AU - Jane Elizabeth Blackwell AU - John Wright TI - Investigating the association between early years foundation stage profile scores and subsequent diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder: a retrospective study of linked healthcare and education data AID - 10.1136/bmjpo-2019-000483 DP - 2019 Nov 01 TA - BMJ Paediatrics Open PG - e000483 VI - 3 IP - 1 4099 - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000483.short 4100 - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000483.full SO - BMJ Paediatrics Open2019 Nov 01; 3 AB - Objective We set out to test whether the early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) score derived from 17 items assessed by teachers at the end of reception school year had any association with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis in subsequent years. This study tested the feasibility of successfully linking education and health data.Design A retrospective data linkage study.Setting and participants The Born in Bradford longitudinal cohort of 13, 857 children.Outcome measures We linked the EYFSP score at the end of reception year with subsequent diagnosis of an ASD, using all ASD general practitioner Read codes. We used the total EYFSP score and a subscore consisting of five key items in the EYFSP, prospectively identified using a panel of early years autism experts.Results This study demonstrated the feasibility of linking education and health data using ASDs as an exemplar. A total of 8,935 children had linked primary care and education data with 20.7% scoring <25 on the total EYFSP and 15.2% scoring <10 on a EYFSP subscore proposed by an expert panel prospectively. The rate of diagnosis of ASDs at follow-up was just under 1% (84 children), children scoring <25 on the total EYFSP had a 4.1% chance of ASD compared with 0.15% of the remaining children. Using the prospectively designed subscore, this difference was greater (6.4% and 0.12%, respectively).Conclusions We demonstrate the feasibility of linking education and health data. Performance on teacher ratings taken universally in school reception class can flag children at risk of ASDs. Further research is warranted to explore the utility of EYFSP as an initial screening tool for ASD in early school years.