Validity of self-reported rheumatoid arthritis in elderly women.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the validity of a self-reported physician diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in elderly women.


METHODS
Women with self-reported RA were contacted and permission requested to contact their physician. Physicians were mailed a questionnaire requesting information on the subject's arthritic condition. Hand radiographs obtained at study entry were read for changes of RA.


RESULTS
The self-reported diagnosis of RA could be confirmed in 26 (21%) individuals.


CONCLUSIONS
The positive predictive value of self-reported RA was low in this cohort. Caution needs to be exercised in the use and interpretation of self-report data concerning arthritic conditions in epidemiologic studies.
Star
V L
VL
Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.
Scott
J C
JC
Sherwin
R
R
Lane
N
N
Nevitt
M C
MC
Hochberg
M C
MC
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016353:Self-Examination; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires