title: Validity of self-reported prevalent cases of stroke and acute myocardial infarction in the Spanish cohort of the EPIC study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Information on the validity of self-reported cases of stroke and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is varied. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and agreement of self-reported prevalent cases of stroke and AMI in the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).
  
  
  METHODS
  At recruitment, 1992-1996, and in the follow-up (3 years after recruitment), each participant in the Spanish EPIC cohort (15,630 men and 25,808 women) was asked if a doctor had ever said that they had had a stroke or AMI, and the results were compared with information available in medical records. Validity of self-reported prevalent cases of stroke and AMI was examined by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and κ statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sensitivity of self-reported prevalent cases of stroke was 81.3% and that for AMI was 97.7%. The positive predictive value was 22.2% and 60.7% for stroke and AMI, respectively, whereas specificity was very high (>99%) for both diseases. The agreement between self-report questionnaire results and medical records was substantial (κ=0.75) for AMI but not for stroke (κ=0.35).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported information on stroke and AMI included in the EPIC questionnaire is a valid instrument for the assessment of AMI disease but should be used with caution in stroke.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department of Gipuzkoa, Basque government, Avenida Navarra 4, San Sebastian 20003, Spain.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machón
authors.forename: Larraitz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arriola
authors.forename: Nerea
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Larrañaga
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Amiano
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moreno-Iribas
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agudo
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ardanaz
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barricarte
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buckland
authors.forename: Ma Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Chirlaque
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gavrila
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Huerta
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: José Ramón
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Quiros
authors.forename: Laudina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Carlos Alberto
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: Miren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dorronsoro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012650:Self Disclosure; D057566:Self Report; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires