Validation of self-reported family history of myocardial infarction using nationwide health care data
(2026) In European Journal of Epidemiology 41(6). p.765-773- Abstract
Self-reported family history of myocardial infarction (MI) is frequently used to assess cardiovascular risk. However, validation of self-reported family history has often been limited to small samples, and to death-certificates or self-reported medical history as reference. This study investigated the accuracy of self-reported family history of MI in a population-based cohort, using register data as reference. We included 25,302 participants from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) with sufficient register coverage. Self-reported family history of MI in parents and siblings was obtained from the SCAPIS questionnaire. Relatives were identified in the Swedish Multi-Generation Register and occurrences of MI were retrieved... (More)
Self-reported family history of myocardial infarction (MI) is frequently used to assess cardiovascular risk. However, validation of self-reported family history has often been limited to small samples, and to death-certificates or self-reported medical history as reference. This study investigated the accuracy of self-reported family history of MI in a population-based cohort, using register data as reference. We included 25,302 participants from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) with sufficient register coverage. Self-reported family history of MI in parents and siblings was obtained from the SCAPIS questionnaire. Relatives were identified in the Swedish Multi-Generation Register and occurrences of MI were retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register and Cause of Death Register. Cohen’s κ, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for self-reports were calculated using register-derived diagnoses as reference. The mean age of participants was 57.5 years. The overall agreement of self-reported and register-verified family history was moderate. Reporting family history of MI in any parent or sibling yielded a κ of 0.491, a sensitivity of 57.6% and a specificity of 89.0%. The positive and negative predictive values were 73.9 and 79.6%, respectively. The accuracy of reported maternal and paternal MI were similar, however, reports of early-onset disease showed lower overall κ. Male participants consistently reported family history less accurately than females, and participants with a university degree reported family history more accurately than those without a university education. Compared with register data, self-reported family history of MI underestimates the prevalence of, especially early-onset, MI in close relatives.
(Less)
- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Cardiovascular risk, Family history, Medical history taking, Myocardial infarction
- in
- European Journal of Epidemiology
- volume
- 41
- issue
- 6
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105039442179
- pmid:42142221
- ISSN
- 0393-2990
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10654-026-01399-x
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7901b375-1e1e-4afc-8ecd-55f076257155
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-17 09:06:58
- date last changed
- 2026-08-31 10:01:05
@article{7901b375-1e1e-4afc-8ecd-55f076257155,
abstract = {{<p>Self-reported family history of myocardial infarction (MI) is frequently used to assess cardiovascular risk. However, validation of self-reported family history has often been limited to small samples, and to death-certificates or self-reported medical history as reference. This study investigated the accuracy of self-reported family history of MI in a population-based cohort, using register data as reference. We included 25,302 participants from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) with sufficient register coverage. Self-reported family history of MI in parents and siblings was obtained from the SCAPIS questionnaire. Relatives were identified in the Swedish Multi-Generation Register and occurrences of MI were retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register and Cause of Death Register. Cohen’s κ, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for self-reports were calculated using register-derived diagnoses as reference. The mean age of participants was 57.5 years. The overall agreement of self-reported and register-verified family history was moderate. Reporting family history of MI in any parent or sibling yielded a κ of 0.491, a sensitivity of 57.6% and a specificity of 89.0%. The positive and negative predictive values were 73.9 and 79.6%, respectively. The accuracy of reported maternal and paternal MI were similar, however, reports of early-onset disease showed lower overall κ. Male participants consistently reported family history less accurately than females, and participants with a university degree reported family history more accurately than those without a university education. Compared with register data, self-reported family history of MI underestimates the prevalence of, especially early-onset, MI in close relatives.</p>}},
author = {{Wahrenberg, Agnes and Leander, Karin and Häbel, Henrike and Magnusson, Patrik K.E. and Kuja-Halkola, Ralf and Bergström, Göran and Lind, Lars and Hagström, Emil and Engström, Gunnar and Jernberg, Tomas and Söderberg, Stefan and Östgren, Carl Johan and Svensson, Per}},
issn = {{0393-2990}},
keywords = {{Cardiovascular risk; Family history; Medical history taking; Myocardial infarction}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{6}},
pages = {{765--773}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{European Journal of Epidemiology}},
title = {{Validation of self-reported family history of myocardial infarction using nationwide health care data}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10654-026-01399-x}},
doi = {{10.1007/s10654-026-01399-x}},
volume = {{41}},
year = {{2026}},
}