title: High validity of mother-reported use of antiasthmatics among children: a comparison with a population-based prescription database.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the validity of (1) maternal questionnaire report of children's use of antiasthmatics using a prescription database as the reference standard and (2) dispensed antiasthmatics as a measure of asthma using maternal report of children's asthma as the reference standard.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 3,394 children in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study aged 7 years were linked to the Norwegian Prescription Database. Maternal report of both children's use of antiasthmatics during the preceding year and the presence of asthma was compared with data on dispensed antiasthmatics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2,056 mothers responded and reported use of antiasthmatics during the previous year in 125 of 147 children who had been dispensed antiasthmatics (sensitivity 85.0%). Of the 1,909 children with no dispensed antiasthmatics, 1,848 had no maternal report of antiasthmatic use (specificity 96.8%). Mothers reported current asthma in 133 (6.5% of 2,056) children, including in 122 (5.9%) reported as verified by a doctor. Of these 122, 98 had been dispensed antiasthmatics during the preceding year (sensitivity 80.3%). Only 1.2% of the children without reported asthma were dispensed antiasthmatics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mother-reported use of antiasthmatics during the previous year among 7-year-old children is highly valid. Dispensed antiasthmatics would be a useful proxy for the presence of current asthma when disease data are not available.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway. kari.furu@fhi.no
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furu
authors.forename: Øystein
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Karlstad
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Skurtveit
authors.forename: Siri E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Håberg
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nafstad
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: London
authors.forename: Wenche
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nystad
mesh_terms: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D017891:Pharmacoepidemiology; D012015:Reference Standards; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents