Citation

Krall EA, Valadian I, Dwyer JT, Gardner J. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 1988; 41(11): 1059-1064.

Affiliation

USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, Mass.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3204416

Abstract

Recall of eight childhood communicable diseases and other illnesses was validated among 95 adults by comparison to longitudinal childhood health records. Self-reports at age 50 of several illnesses were highly accurate; however, German measles was correctly recalled by only 34% of subjects. Similar levels of accuracy were consistently found among a subset who also completed health history interviews 8 and 20 years earlier. Over-reporting of some health events was common. Past exposure to viral or bacterial agents is sometimes assessed in case-control studies by self-reports. Misclassification of prior exposure due to faulty recall may distort true associations between childhood illness and chronic disease in later life.

Language: en