title: Reliability of reported sunburn history in a case-control study of cutaneous malignant melanoma.
abstract: Reliability of reported sunburn history was assessed. Fifty cases and 50 controls were randomly selected from a population-based case-control study of skin examination practices and lethal melanoma in Connecticut. Eighty-two percent of these participants were interviewed from January 15, 1987, to May 15, 1989, and reinterviewed in 1990. The kappa coefficients ranged between 0.37 and 0.57; the intraclass correlation coefficients were similar and ranged between 0.34 and 0.69. There were no significant differences found by case-control status or sex for any variables, and the degree of disagreement was similar for cases and controls and could be considered free of recall bias.
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berwick
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D013471:Sunburn / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*