Comparing self-reported and physician-reported medical history
Abstract
The authors compared self-reported medical history and medication use in a cataract case-control study of 1,380 persons (1985-1989) in Boston, Massachusetts, with information from the participants' physicians. Under- and overreporting varied by condition and type of medication. A self-reported history of hypertension had the highest sensitivity (91%), and diabetes history had the highest specificity (97%). Among different medications investigated, self-reported antihypertensive medication use was the most sensitive (88%), while self-reported use of insulin was the most specific (99%). Differences between patient- and physician-reported frequencies were very small, except for arthritis (15%) and regular aspirin use (21%). Results suggest an accurate recall of medical and drug usage history in well-defined chronic conditions.
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Several studies have found excellent agreement between self-reports and hospital or physician records for specific conditions including myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes.
“Several studies have found excellent agreement between self-reports and hospital or physician records for specific conditions of interest to us, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes (29, 30).”
From Chronic stress and age-related increases in the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6. (2003) · cites this paper as [30]
Disability was self-reported via questionnaires, and prior studies support the reliability of self-reported disability instruments.
“Disability was self-reported using questionnaires, and prior studies support the reliability of self-reported instruments to measure disability.(22)”
From Urinary incontinence and disability in community-dwelling women: A cross-sectional study: Urinary Incontinence and Disability in Ambulatory Women (2015) · cites this paper as [22]
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- Authors
- Kehoe, R., Wu, S.-Y., Leske, M. C., & Chylack, L. T.
- Affiliations
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Leske, M. Cristina
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1994-04-15
- Volume
- 139
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 813-818
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- OpenAlex
- W1935998299
- Cited by
- 441
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 35.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Eye Institute (EY 05733)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Medical Studies
- Keywords
- recall accuracy, underreporting, overreporting, cataract, medication use, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, antihypertensive drugs, insulin, arthritis, aspirin, chronic disease
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Cataract, Chronic Disease, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Humans, Male, Medical History Taking, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sensitivity and Specificity, Reproducibility of Results, Bias, Prevalence, Case-Control Studies
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