Validation of Beighton Score and prevalence of connective tissue signs in 773 Dutch children

Objective. Validation of the Beighton Score and the prevalence of connectiv e tissue signs were investigated in Dutch children. Methods. Hypermobility investigation according to Beighton was undertaken i n 773 healthy children aged 4-12 years. An inventory of the signs that fitt ed with connective tissue disorders was compiled. Results. The percentage of general hypermobility at a cutoff point of great er than or equal to 4 was 26.5% (range 11.4-49%) in children aged 4-9 yrs. At the age of 10-12 yrs, this percentage was 5.3% (range 0-7.1%). There was good agreement (kappa = 0.65) between the measurement on the left and the right sides at all ages. Of the investigated connective tissue signs, thin transparent skin was noted in 0.1%, blue sclerae in 0.1%, and an elevated p alate in 2.3% of the children. It was observed that 8.2% of the children we re able to touch their nose with their tongue (Gorlin's sign) and 23.7% wer e able to touch their chin. The other signs were not observed in any of the children. Conclusion. We validated the criteria for performing the Beighton Score in (Dutch) children. A cutoff point of greater than or equal to 5 should be ch osen for Dutch children aged between 4 and 9 years, It appeared that one-si ded Beighton Score could be determined during screening of healthy populati ons. Additional diagnostic tests are warranted if one of the following sign s, such as a thin transparent skin, hyperelastic skin, large hematomas, pro minent scars, molluscoid tumors, striae distensae, blue sclerae, elevated p alate, and Gorlin's sign, is encountered in a child. Although it is not pos sible to extrapolate the data, we expect that the findings are relevant for children of Caucasian race.