Reliability of a self-reported health questionnaire in a periodontal disease study

This study assesses the reliability of a self‐reported health questionnaire completed by 413 subjects aged 25–74 yr in the Erie County Periodontal Disease (ECPD) Study. Specific questions on general and oral health conditions were completed by each subject during a first visit and at a follow‐up exa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of periodontal research Vol. 32; no. 8; pp. 646 - 650
Main Authors: Ho, Alex W., Grossi, Sara G., Dunford, Robert G., Genco, Robert J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.1997
Blackwell
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Dental Care - statistics & numerical data
Dietary Supplements
Disease
Drug Hypersensitivity - epidemiology
Ent. Stomatology
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health
Humans
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
kappa
Key words: reliability
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Minerals - administration & dosage
New York - epidemiology
Oral Health
Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques
periodontal
Periodontal Diseases - epidemiology
Reproducibility of Results
Self-Assessment
self-reported
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tooth Extraction - statistics & numerical data
Vitamins - administration & dosage
New York
Human
Survey
Periodontal disease
Questionnaire
Stomatology
Health
Exploration
Reliability
Comparative study
ISSN:0022-3484, 1600-0765
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This study assesses the reliability of a self‐reported health questionnaire completed by 413 subjects aged 25–74 yr in the Erie County Periodontal Disease (ECPD) Study. Specific questions on general and oral health conditions were completed by each subject during a first visit and at a follow‐up examination 2 yr later, and the two compared. Results showed that the overall measure of agreement between the two visits is substantial (average kappa, k=0.80). Variation by gender and age were minimal. Questions regarding allergy to medications, oral treatment, reason for tooth extraction, health symptoms and history of systemic diseases exhibited high levels of agreement (kappa ranged from 0.71–0.90). Information on vitamin and mineral intake yielded k= 0.63. Oral conditions scored the lowest but were still acceptable (k= 0.57). These findings indicate that there were no significant discrepancies in self‐reported responses to the health questionnaire used in the ECPD Study. Although the information provided by the subject may not be as accurate as compared to laboratory testing, it is nevertheless a reliable source of information which can be utilized cost‐effectively in research studies.
Bibliography:istex:7DBF0B0137475BAF2937BE2683C036FEC03E1930
ark:/67375/WNG-TX8BGFXV-9
ArticleID:JRE646
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0022-3484
1600-0765
DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0765.1997.tb00574.x