Children Suspected for Developmental Coordination Disorder in Hong Kong and Associated Health-Related Functioning

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have motor difficulties that interfere with their daily functions. The extent to which DCD affects children in Hong Kong has not been established. In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of chil-dren suspected for DCD in Hong Kong and to examine the relationship between motor performance difficulties and health-related functioning. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of parents of children aged 5 to 12 years across Hong Kong (n = 632). The survey consisted of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) and short forms on global health, physical activity, positive affect, and cognitive function of the Pa-tient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) parent-proxy report scales. We found that the total DCDQ score categorized 18.29% of the children as suspect for DCD (sDCD). Logistic regression revealed that household income (OR 0.79, p = 0.001) and the child's age (OR 1.01, p = 0.002) contributed to being categorized as sDCD. Children categorized as sDCD had lower global health (p < 0.001), less positive affect (p < 0.001), and more impaired cognitive function (p < 0.001) than children categorized as probably not DCD (nDCD). The findings of this study contribute to clarifying the extent to which DCD might be affecting Hong Kong children and serve as a basis to advocate for programs that address motor, health, affective, and cognitive outcomes. Further research is recom-mended to estimate the prevalence of a DCD diagnosis in Hong Kong.