BACKGROUND Most neurodevelopmental tests used to assess child development in sub-Saharan Africa were developed in western or high-income countries, raising the question of their usefulness with African children. OBJECTIVE This systematic review identified and synthesized key findings from studies measuring development in children in Sub-Saharan Africa in early childhood and again at school age, to assess neurocognitive associations longitudinally from infancy through middle childhood. METHODS The study was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method, selecting articles referenced in the PubMed, PsycInfo, and Embase databases using the following inclusion criteria: published between 2000 and 2022, written in French or English, and presenting results dealing with the objective assessment of child's neurodevelopment. All articles were registered in the Zotero reference manager and analyzed by title, abstract, and full text. RESULTS Several of the seven selected studies confirmed that attention and working memory in infancy can predict children's neurocognitive performance, including mathematical ability, at school age. In two of the studies, children with poor mental development at 1 year of age are more likely to present with poorer behavioral development at school age, including learning difficulties in school and risk for grade repetition. CONCLUSION Cognitive ability assessed in early childhood is strongly associated with performance at school age in cohorts of African children followed longitudinally. Even with assessments adapted cross-culturally, infants and preschoolers at risk for poor developmental outcomes can be identified to better receive strategic early interventions to enhance their development.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲地区儿童早期的神经发育评估是否可以预测儿童和青少年后期的表现？文献的系统回顾。

背景 大多数用于评估撒哈拉以南非洲儿童发育的神经发育测试都是在西方或高收入国家开发的，这引发了这些测试对非洲儿童是否有用的问题。目的 这项系统综述确定并综合了测量撒哈拉以南非洲地区儿童幼儿期和学龄期儿童发育的研究的主要结果，以纵向评估从婴儿期到童年中期的神经认知关联。方法 该研究基于系统评价和荟萃分析方法的首选报告项目，使用以下纳入标准选择 PubMed、PsycInfo 和 Embase 数据库中引用的文章：发表于 2000 年至 2022 年之间，以法语或英语撰写，并且呈现有关儿童神经发育客观评估的结果。所有文章均在 Zotero 参考管理器中注册，并按标题、摘要和全文进行分析。结果 七项选定的研究中有几项证实，婴儿期的注意力和工作记忆可以预测儿童在学龄期的神经认知表现，包括数学能力。在其中两项研究中，一岁时智力发育不良的儿童更有可能在学龄期表现出较差的行为发育，包括在学校的学习困难和留级的风险。结论 在纵向追踪的非洲儿童群体中，幼儿期评估的认知能力与学龄期表现密切相关。即使采用跨文化的评估，也可以识别出面临发育不良风险的婴儿和学龄前儿童，以便更好地接受战略性早期干预，以促进他们的发育。