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Validation of the Taiwan Birth Registry using obstetric records
Chih-Ming Lin1, Pei-Chen Lee, Sen-Wen Teng
1Office of Safety and Health, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Insights
The Taiwan Birth Registry (TBR) data is highly valid for maternal and child health research, showing low missing information rates and accurate reporting of key birth characteristics like gender and birth weight.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Biostatistics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Birth certificates are crucial for population-based health research.
- Data accuracy in birth registries directly impacts research validity.
- Assessing the reliability of birth registry data is essential for its effective use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy and validity of birth registry data in Taiwan.
- To determine the reliability of key birth characteristics recorded in the Taiwan Birth Registry (TBR).
Main Methods:
- Linked obstetric records (1995-1997) of 2779 infants to the Taiwan Birth Registry (TBR).
- Assessed concordance for gender, birth order, birth weight, and gestational age using percentages and Cohen's kappa.
- Calculated sensitivity and specificity for birth weight and gestational age.
Main Results:
- Missing data in TBR was minimal (0% to 1.6%) for the studied items.
- High concordance percentages were observed for gender (99.0%) and birth weight.
- Cohen's kappa values (0.92-0.96) indicated substantial agreement for birth weight and gestational age.
Conclusions:
- The Taiwan Birth Registry demonstrates high data validity for essential maternal and child health research variables.
- Low rates of missing information and strong agreement levels support the TBR's utility.
- The findings affirm the reliability of TBR data for epidemiological studies in Taiwan.
Background And Purpose:
Birth certificates are a major source of population-based data often used in maternal and child health research, but their value depends upon the level of accuracy of the data. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the birth registry data in Taiwan.
Methods:
Obstetric records of a total of 2779 infants born at a municipal hospital in Taipei between 1995 and 1997 were abstracted and linked to the Taiwan Birth Registry (TBR). Concordance was presented by agreement percentages for various birth characteristics including gender, birth order, birth weight, and gestational age. Concordance was further assessed using Cohen's k and sensitivity/specificity for both birth weight and gestational age, with both variables categorized according to their customary definitions.
Results:
Missing data for specific items in the TBR ranged from 0% (gender) to 1.6% (birth order). The birth registry accurately reported all 4 selected items, with the highest and lowest concordance percentage noted for gender (99.0%) and gestational age (88.3%), respectively. The level of agreement indicated by the Cohen's k statistic ranged from 0.92 to 0.96 for birth weight and gestational age when both variables were treated as categorical variables.
Conclusions:
The TBR showed a low rate of missing information and high levels of validity for the elements frequently used in maternal and child health research in Taiwan.
