title: Disease prevalence based on older people's self-reports increased, but patient-general practitioner agreement remained stable, 1992-2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous studies revealed increases in the prevalence of chronic diseases in older people in most countries. This study investigated if a changed inclination to report diseases underlies these increases, by comparing the agreement between self-reports and general practitioner (GP) records of chronic diseases between 1992-1993 and 2008-2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses were performed on data from two waves of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Data from older adults aged 60-85 years came from 1992-1993 (N=1,896) and from the same age group in 2008-2009 (N=1,086). We compared respondent (R) and GP records of lung disease, cardiac disease, peripheral arterial disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer. Multilevel regression models were applied to examine (change in) predictors of over-reporting (R+, GP-) and under-reporting (R-, GP+).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over-reporting of chronic diseases became significantly more common over time, whereas under-reporting became less common. Agreement and change in agreement differed across the specific diseases. Under-reporting was associated with male gender; over-reporting with female gender, worse self-rated health, and worse physical functioning. Older adults were less accurate in their self-reports than younger adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Trends in self-reported chronic diseases may be influenced by changes in reporting behavior, and future studies should take this possibility into account.
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: h.galenkamp@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Henrike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Galenkamp
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Sociology, VU University, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huisman
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Emergency Psychiatry, Altrecht Mental Health Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Residency Training, Altrecht Mental Health Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjan W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Braam
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), PO box 1568, 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: François G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Schellevis
authors.affiliation: EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dorly J H
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Deeg
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Aged; Chronic disease; General practice; Health surveys; Prevalence; Trends