Title

Evaluating the Quality of Self-Reports of Hypertension and Diabetes

Author(s)

Noreen Goldman Noreen Goldman (Princeton University)

I-fen Lin I-fen Lin (Bowling Green State University)

Maxine Weinstein Maxine Weinstein (Georgetown University)

Yu-Hsuan Lin Yu-Hsuan Lin (Survey Research Center for Population and Health, Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health, Taiwan, ROC)

Abstract

Researchers and health specialists are increasingly obtaining information on chronic illnesses from self-reports. This study validates self-reports of two major health conditions, hypertension and diabetes, based on a recently fielded survey in Taiwan (SEBAS, 2000). The survey includes both self-reported health information and a physical examination for a large, nationally representative sample of respondents aged 54 and older. Average blood pressure readings, laboratory measures of glycosylated hemoglobin and information on whether the respondent was taking medication for hypertension or diabetes are used to validate respondents' reports of high blood pressure and diabetes. The resulting comparisons reveal that self-reports vastly underestimate the prevalence of hypertension (by almost 50 percent), but yield a reasonably accurate estimate of the prevalence of diabetes (a sensitivity of 83 percent). Significant correlates of the accuracy of the self-reports include age, education, time of the most recent health exam, and cognitive function.

Creation Date

2002-03

Section URL ID

OPR

Paper Number

opr0203.pdf

URL

https://web.archive.org/web/20150906201217/http://opr.princeton.edu/papers/opr0203.pdf

File Function

Jel

I10

Keyword(s)

diabetes; hypertension; self-reports; validity, accuracy; Taiwan

Suppress

false

Series

11