Article Test

Objective: To examine the symptom irritability reported in Mexican children aged fourto twelve in a series of studies at general practice and in the general population using the Brief Screening and Diagnosis Questionnaire (CBTD for its initials in Spanish) in order to identify probable syndromes and its association with internalizing and externalizing problems.

Material and Methods: A combined base of six studies (N=1,881) carried out between 2005 and 2018 was compared with the 1995 population study at Mexico City (N=1,223). The total prevalence of three probable irritability syndromes was obtained for sex and age group. The strength of the association between these irritability syndromes and internalizing and externalizing problems as defined by the CBTD was obtained.

Results: Irritability was six to eleven times higher than in 1995, prevailing in the most symptomatic cases. The association with externalizing syndromes was three to four times higher and two to six times higher with internalizing syndromes.

Conclusions: The three syndrome definitions seem to adequately address childhood irritability detecting clinically significant cases and those most in need of care.