No evidence for marked ethnic differences in accuracy of self-reported diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether the accuracy of self-reported diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia in high-risk groups differs according to ethnicity.

STUDY DESIGN AND

SETTING

We analyzed data of 430 patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease from different ethnic origin, including Turkish, Surinamese, and Dutch. Risk factors based on self-reports were compared with data from medical records and with a gold standard based on clinical measurements. Proportions of concordance between self-reports and other methods and kappa statistics (kappa) were determined by ethnicity.

RESULTS

Concordance between self-reports and other data sources was highest in diabetes and lowest for hypercholesterolemia. Agreement of self-reports was substantial to almost perfect for diabetes (kappa: 0.84-0.76), substantial to moderate for hypertension (kappa: 0.63-0.51), and moderate for hypercholesterolemia (kappa: 0.55-0.48). There was no statistically significant association between ethnicity and concordance, except for self-reporting of diabetes among Surinamese vs. Dutch indigenous patients (odds ratio=0.37; 95% confidence interval: 0.14-0.97).

CONCLUSION

There are no marked ethnic differences in the accuracy of self-reports of diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia in high-risk populations. Larger studies including multiple ethnic groups are needed to confirm these findings.