Annual Baseline King-Devick Oculomotor Function Testing Is Needed Due to Scores Varying by Age

Date
2021
Authors
Gallagher, D
King, D
Hume, P
Clark, T
Pearce, A
Gissane, C
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract

Objective: To document baseline King-Devick (K-D) oculomotor function scores for male and female participants aged between 4 and 20 years old. Methods: Utilising a cross section of schools, rugby clubs and gymnastic clubs, 1936 participants (1300 male, 636 female) completed the spiral-bound K-D test for the identification of disturbed oculomotor function. Results: This study identified that overall, the baseline scores of the K-D test became faster by 1.4 (0.3 to 4.5) s per year, when compared with the previous age group in the same number of reading card groups. When comparing normative values of the original K-D validation study with the same age groups of the current cohort, participants aged 6 to 11 years recorded a faster baseline time (range 3.5 to 8.6 s), while those in the 12 to 14 years. age group recorded slower baseline times (range −3.9 to −7.9 s). Discussion: In general, there were age group differences, but not sex differences, for K-D test times in the current cohort. Analysis of single card times, across all age groups, showed changes likely due to improved reading time. Conclusion: The results support the need for individualised annual pre-injury baseline testing of the K-D test.

Description
Keywords
Oculomotor function; Internal consistency; Test–retest reliability; Individualised; Baseline testing
Source
Sports, 9(12), 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9120166
Rights statement
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).