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Parental recall of birthweight: a good proxy for recorded birthweight?
K A Walton1, L J Murray, A M Gallagher
1The Nuffield Department of Child Health, Institute of Clinical Science, The Queen's University of Belfast, UK.
Insights
Parental recall of birthweight is largely accurate for research, with 84.8% of parents recalling within 227g of the recorded value. Recall accuracy varied by social class and infant birthweight category.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Emerging evidence links birthweight to later-life disease risk.
- Recorded birthweight data may be inaccessible for some research studies.
- Parental recall is a potential alternative data source for birthweight.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the validity of parental recall of birthweight.
- To determine factors influencing the accuracy of recalled birthweight.
Main Methods:
- The Young Hearts Study surveyed 1015 adolescents (aged 12 and 15) in Northern Ireland.
- Parents completed questionnaires including child's birthweight recall.
- Recalled birthweights were compared against archived health records (accuracy cut-off +/- 227g).
Main Results:
- 84.8% of parents accurately recalled birthweight within 227g.
- Non-manual social classes demonstrated higher recall accuracy (88.0%) than manual classes (82.6%).
- Recall accuracy was lower for parents of low (76.1%) and high (78.5%) birthweight infants compared to normal birthweight infants.
Conclusions:
- Parentally recalled birthweight is a potentially valid proxy for recorded birthweight in population-based research.
- Consideration of social class and birthweight extremes may be necessary when using recalled data.
- This method supports research into childhood and adolescent disease associations with birthweight.
Abstract:
Recent evidence suggests potential associations between birthweight and disease in later life. For resource or other reasons recorded birthweight may be unavailable to researchers who have access to uniquely relevant outcome data. The present study examined the validity of parental recall of birthweight. Parents of 1015 males and females aged 12 and 15 years participating in the Young Hearts Study (a cluster random sample of 1015 males and females aged 12 and 15 years from post-primary schools in Northern Ireland) completed a questionnaire which included a question about their child's birthweight. The answer provided was compared with recorded birthweight obtained from archived computerised child health records with a cut-off point for inaccurate reporting set at +/- 227 g (1/2 lb). The influence of social class and weight at birth on accuracy of recall was also determined. A total of 84.8% of parents accurately recalled their child's birthweight to within 227 g. Parents from non-manual occupation social classes recalled birthweight more accurately than those from manual occupation social classes (88.0 vs. 82.6% accurate: chi2 = 4.81, p = 0.03). Parents of low birthweight infants tended to recall their birthweight less accurately than parents of normal weight infants: 76.1% accurate compared to 86.1% accurate: chi2 = 3.54, p = 0.06. Parents of high birthweight infants recalled their birthweight less accurately than parents of normal weight infants: 78.5% accurate: chi2 = 3.94, p = 0.05. In conclusion, parentally recalled birthweight may be a suitable proxy for recorded birthweight for population based research into disease in childhood and adolescence.