Reliability of variables on the North Carolina birth certificate: a comparison with directly queried values from a cohort study
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Summary: Vinikoor LC, Messer LC, Laraia BA, Kaufman JS. Reliability of variables on the North Carolina birth certificate: a comparison with directly queried values from a cohort study. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2010; 24: 102–112. Birth records are an important source of data for examining population‐level birth outcomes, but questions about the reliability of these vital records exist. We sought to assess the reliability of birth certificate data by comparing them with data from a large prospective cohort. Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition cohort study participants were matched with their birth certificates to assess agreement for maternal demographics, health behaviours, previous pregnancies and major pregnancy events. Agreement among categorical variables was assessed using percentage agreement and kappa statistics; for continuous variables, Spearman's correlations and concordance correlation coefficients were used. The majority of variables had high agreement between the two data sources, especially for maternal demographic and birth outcome variables. Variables measuring anaemia, gestational diabetes and alcohol consumption showed the lowest correlations. Number of cigarettes smoked and number of previous pregnancies differed by education categories. For most variables, birth records appear to be a good source of reliable information. With the exception of a few variables that differed by education, most variables did not differ by stratum of race or education. Our research further supports the use of birth certificates as a reliable source of population‐level data.
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Tobacco use in pregnancy measured by parent recall is subject to under-reporting because of stigma, and medical data collected prospectively is considered reasonably valid for in utero tobacco exposure but still subject to under-reporting.
“Tobacco use in pregnancy was measured by parent recall, which is subject to some degree of under-reporting because of stigma, and by medical data (e.g., birth certificates) that was collected prospectively and considered reasonably valid for measuring in utero tobacco exposure,50 but was still subject to under-reporting.36”
From Environmental Chemical Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence (2014) · cites this paper as [50]
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- Authors
- Vinikoor, L. C., Messer, L. C., Laraia, B. A., & Kaufman, J. S.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Duke University (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Vinikoor, Lisa C.
- Venue
- Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-12-29
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 102-112
- ISSN
- 0269-5022 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-3016
- PMC
- PMC3437766
- OpenAlex
- W2029278725
- Cited by
- 109
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 13.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
- UNC Libraries
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- National Institutes of Health (2r24hd050924-06, RR-00046)
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- U.S. Public Health Service (1R40MC07841-01-00)
- National Cancer Institute (#CA109804-01, CA109804, R01CA109804)
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (RR00046, HD37584)
- National Center for Research Resources (RR00046, M01RR000046)
- Maternal and Child Health Bureau
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24 HD-050924, K01HD047122, R01HD037584, HD 37584)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Medical Coding and Health Information
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
- Keywords
- birth certificates, vital records, data reliability, data source agreement, maternal demographics, maternal health behavior, pregnancy outcomes, gestational diabetes mellitus, anemia in pregnancy, maternal alcohol consumption, maternal smoking, educational attainment, race
- MeSH terms
- Birth Certificates, Documentation, Educational Status, Ethnicity, Female, Humans, Medical Records, North Carolina, Pregnancy, Cohort Studies, Bias
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