Validity and Reliability of Self-Reported Prevalent and Incident Cardiovascular Disease Among Asian Adults

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Cardiology

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a primary cause of mortality among Asian populations.
• Accurate assessment of CVD prevalence and incidence is crucial for effective public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity and reliability of self-reported cardiovascular disease (SR-CVD) in a multi-ethnic Asian cohort.
• To determine the accuracy of SR-CVD for identifying prevalent and incident cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke.

Main Methods:

• A population-based cohort study in Singapore involving 6762 adults aged 40-80 years.
• Assessed validity using sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value (NPV) by comparing SR-CVD against diagnosed CVD.
• Evaluated reliability through positive agreement percentages between baseline and 6-year follow-up visits.

Main Results:

• SR-CVD demonstrated high specificity (93.8% prevalent, 98.5% incident) and NPV (98.1% for both).
• Sensitivity for SR-CVD was moderate (62.7% prevalent, 50.9% incident).
• Positive self-reports showed substantial reliability (85% agreement) between study visits.

Conclusions:

• Self-reported CVD is a valuable tool for excluding acute myocardial infarction and stroke due to its excellent specificity and NPV.
• The moderate sensitivity of SR-CVD necessitates further clinical investigation for positive self-reports to mitigate potential false positives.