Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Neurourol Urodyn. 2020 Sep;39(7):1939-1948. doi: 10.1002/nau.24461. Epub 2020 Jul 23.
Measurement of self-reported lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) typically uses a recall period, for example, "In the past 30 days…." Compared to averaged daily reports, 30-day recall is generally unbiased, but recall bias varies by item. We examined the associations between personal characteristics (eg, age, symptom bother) and 30-day recall of LUTS using items from the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network Comprehensive Assessment of Self-reported Urinary Symptoms questionnaire.
Participants (127 women and 127 men) were recruited from 6 US tertiary care sites. They completed daily assessments for 30 days and a 30-day recall assessment at the end of the study month. For each of the 18 tested items, representing 10 LUTS, the average of the participant's daily responses was modeled as a function of their 30-day recall, the personal characteristic, and the interaction between the 30-day recall and the characteristic in separate general linear regression models, adjusted for sex.
Nine items representing 7 LUTS exhibited under- or overreporting (recall bias) for at least 25% of participants. Bias was associated with personal characteristics for six LUTS. Underreporting of incontinence was associated with older age, lower anxiety, and negative affect; overreporting of other LUTS was associated with, symptom bother, symptom variability, anxiety, and depression.
We identified under- or overreporting that was associated with personal characteristics for six common LUTS. Some cues (eg, less bother and lower anxiety) were related to recall bias in an unexpected direction. Thus, providers should exercise caution when making judgments about the accuracy of a patient's symptom recall based on patient demographic and psychosocial characteristics.
下尿路症状（LUTS）的自我报告测量通常使用回忆期，例如“在过去 30 天内……”。与平均每日报告相比，30 天回忆通常没有偏差，但回忆偏差因项目而异。我们使用下尿路功能障碍症状研究网络综合报告的尿症状问卷中的项目，检查了个人特征（例如年龄、症状困扰）与 LUTS 的 30 天回忆之间的关联。
参与者（127 名女性和 127 名男性）从 6 个美国三级保健机构招募。他们完成了 30 天的每日评估，并在研究月末完成了 30 天的回忆评估。对于测试的 18 个项目中的每一个，代表 10 个 LUTS，参与者的每日反应的平均值被建模为他们 30 天回忆、个人特征以及 30 天回忆和特征之间的相互作用的函数，在单独的一般线性回归模型中进行了调整，以调整性别。
代表 7 个 LUTS 的 9 个项目至少有 25%的参与者表现出低估或高估（回忆偏差）。偏差与个人特征相关的 6 个 LUTS。尿失禁的低估与年龄较大、焦虑程度较低和负性情绪有关；其他 LUTS 的高估与症状困扰、症状变异性、焦虑和抑郁有关。
我们确定了与六个常见 LUTS 的个人特征相关的低估或高估。一些线索（例如，困扰较小和焦虑程度较低）与回忆偏差的方向出乎意料。因此，根据患者的人口统计学和心理社会特征，提供者在判断患者症状回忆的准确性时应谨慎行事。
