Recall of childhood illnesses.
Recall of eight childhood communicable diseases and other illnesses was validated among 95 adults by comparison to longitudinal childhood health records. Self-reports at age 50 of several illnesses were highly accurate; however, German measles was correctly recalled by only 34% of subjects. Similar levels of accuracy were consistently found among a subset who also completed health history interviews 8 and 20 years earlier. Over-reporting of some health events was common. Past exposure to viral or bacterial agents is sometimes assessed in case-control studies by self-reports. Misclassification of prior exposure due to faulty recall may distort true associations between childhood illness and chronic disease in later life.
Krall
E A
EA
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, Mass.
Valadian
I
I
Dwyer
J T
JT
Gardner
J
J
D000059:Accidents; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003141:Communicable Diseases; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative