Accuracy of self-reported diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia in the adult Spanish population. DINO study findings.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of self-reported diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia in a representative sample of adults (719 men and 837 women) from the south of Spain.

METHODS

Self-reported data were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Biometric data recorded included blood glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations and arterial systolic and diastolic blood pressures. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of self-reported diagnoses were calculated using the biometric data as the reference standard. The degree of overall agreement was determined using Cohen's kappa coefficient.

RESULTS

The kappa values obtained indicated good agreement for self-reported diabetes (kappa=0.78), moderate agreement for hypertension (kappa=0.51), and minimal agreement for hyperlipidemia (kappa=0.27). Using the information reported, around 70% of diabetic cases were detected, along with half of hypertensive cases and 35% of hyperlipidemic cases. The specificity was high overall (>96%). The factors associated with an accurate self-reported diagnosis in subjects with disease included female sex and obesity (for hypertension), older age (for hyperlipidemia), a family history of disease (for diabetes) and having undergone blood pressure measurement (for all three conditions) or blood lipid measurement (for hypertension and hyperlipidemia) in the past year.

CONCLUSIONS

The accuracy of self-reported diabetes was high, whereas that of self-reported hypertension or hyperlipidemia was lower. Further efforts are needed to increase awareness of these conditions among the population.