Validity of self-reported comorbidities in systemic sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the validity of self-reports by patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) of 5 common, chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, cancer, depression, and osteoarthritis/back pain) as compared to chart review.


METHODS
SSc patients at a large referral hospital self-reported on a number of comorbidities. Their inpatient and outpatient medical records were abstracted using a standardized data extraction form. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the self-reported diagnoses were calculated using data from the chart review as gold standard.


RESULTS
Self-reported comorbidity data were verified by chart review for 130 patients with SSc. The sensitivity of the self-reports for the 5 comorbid conditions was low [range 35% (cancer) to 86% (diabetes)]. The specificity was moderate to high [range 76% (osteoarthritis/back pain) to 99% (cancer)]. The positive predictive values ranged from 31% (depression) to 86% (cancer).


CONCLUSIONS
Self-reports of comorbidities do not provide optimal data for the identification of common, chronic conditions in patients with SSc.
Hudson
Marie
M
Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital and McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada. marie.hudson@mcgill.ca
Sharma
Anish
A
Bernstein
Jessica
J
Baron
Murray
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity