Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Self-administered questionnaire compared with a personal diary for assessment of current use of hormone therapy: an analysis of 16,060 women

Merlo, Juan LU orcid ; Berglund, Göran LU ; Wirfält, Elisabet LU ; Gullberg, Bo LU ; Hedblad, Bo LU ; Manjer, Jonas LU ; Hovelius, Birgitta LU ; Janzon, Lars LU ; Hanson, Bertil S and Östergren, Per-Olof LU (2000) In American Journal of Epidemiology 152(8). p.788-792
Abstract
A personal diary may be more appropriate than a questionnaire for assessing self-reported current use of hormone therapy (estrogens, progestagens, or their combination); however, use of a questionnaire is more feasible and less expensive. The authors compared both methods for 16,060 Swedish women aged 45-73 years from the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study (baseline, 1991-1996). In a reliability analysis, the authors investigated the agreement (kappa value) between the questionnaire and the diary regarding current hormone therapy use (yes vs. no), studying the ability to replicate results whether or not they were correct. They also explored associations between discrepancy and individual characteristics. A validity analysis was conducted to... (More)
A personal diary may be more appropriate than a questionnaire for assessing self-reported current use of hormone therapy (estrogens, progestagens, or their combination); however, use of a questionnaire is more feasible and less expensive. The authors compared both methods for 16,060 Swedish women aged 45-73 years from the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study (baseline, 1991-1996). In a reliability analysis, the authors investigated the agreement (kappa value) between the questionnaire and the diary regarding current hormone therapy use (yes vs. no), studying the ability to replicate results whether or not they were correct. They also explored associations between discrepancy and individual characteristics. A validity analysis was conducted to determine whether use of the questionnaire achieved an outcome without systematic error (i.e., high specificity and sensitivity); the personal diary was considered the "gold standard." Agreement between both methods was high: 95.5% (kappa = 0.840). The sensitivity was 84.9% and the specificity 97.7%. Higher body mass index and being a widow were associated with agreement, whereas age (50-59 years), use of anxiolytics/hypnotics or opiates, high alcohol consumption, past smoking, and higher educational level were associated with discrepancy. Compared with a personal diary, a simple self-administered questionnaire is a valid method for assessing current use of hormone therapy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
American Journal of Epidemiology
volume
152
issue
8
pages
788 - 792
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:11052558
  • wos:000089906500013
  • scopus:0034667546
ISSN
0002-9262
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
96bef338-081b-499c-9bb5-3a2e72b2d0ca (old id 1117872)
alternative location
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/152/8/788
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:03:50
date last changed
2024-02-06 19:34:18
@article{96bef338-081b-499c-9bb5-3a2e72b2d0ca,
  abstract     = {{A personal diary may be more appropriate than a questionnaire for assessing self-reported current use of hormone therapy (estrogens, progestagens, or their combination); however, use of a questionnaire is more feasible and less expensive. The authors compared both methods for 16,060 Swedish women aged 45-73 years from the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study (baseline, 1991-1996). In a reliability analysis, the authors investigated the agreement (kappa value) between the questionnaire and the diary regarding current hormone therapy use (yes vs. no), studying the ability to replicate results whether or not they were correct. They also explored associations between discrepancy and individual characteristics. A validity analysis was conducted to determine whether use of the questionnaire achieved an outcome without systematic error (i.e., high specificity and sensitivity); the personal diary was considered the "gold standard." Agreement between both methods was high: 95.5% (kappa = 0.840). The sensitivity was 84.9% and the specificity 97.7%. Higher body mass index and being a widow were associated with agreement, whereas age (50-59 years), use of anxiolytics/hypnotics or opiates, high alcohol consumption, past smoking, and higher educational level were associated with discrepancy. Compared with a personal diary, a simple self-administered questionnaire is a valid method for assessing current use of hormone therapy.}},
  author       = {{Merlo, Juan and Berglund, Göran and Wirfält, Elisabet and Gullberg, Bo and Hedblad, Bo and Manjer, Jonas and Hovelius, Birgitta and Janzon, Lars and Hanson, Bertil S and Östergren, Per-Olof}},
  issn         = {{0002-9262}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{788--792}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{American Journal of Epidemiology}},
  title        = {{Self-administered questionnaire compared with a personal diary for assessment of current use of hormone therapy: an analysis of 16,060 women}},
  url          = {{http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/152/8/788}},
  volume       = {{152}},
  year         = {{2000}},
}