Limitations of adjustment for reporting tendency in observational studies of stress and self reported coronary heart disease

Macleod, J., Davey Smith, G., Heslop, P., Metcalfe, C., Carroll, D. and Hart, C. (2002) Limitations of adjustment for reporting tendency in observational studies of stress and self reported coronary heart disease. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56(1), pp. 76-77. (doi: 10.1136/jech.56.1.76)

Abstract

Recently, observational evidence has been suggested to show a causal association between various "psychosocial" exposures, including psychological stress, and heart disease. Much of this evidence derives from studies in which a self reported psychosocial exposure is related to an outcome dependent on the subjective experience of coronary heart disease (CHD) symptoms. Such outcomes may be measured using standard symptom questionnaires (like the Rose angina schedule). Alternatively they may use diagnoses of disease from medical records, which depend on an individual perceiving symptoms and reporting them to a health worker. In these situations, reporting bias may generate spurious exposure-outcome associations. For example if people who perceive and report their life as most stressful also over-report symptoms of cardiovascular disease then an artefactual association between stress and heart disease will result.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hart, Dr Carole and Davey Smith, Professor George
• Authors: Macleod, J., Davey Smith, G., Heslop, P., Metcalfe, C., Carroll, D., and Hart, C.
• Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine; R Medicine > RC Internal medicine; R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Research Group: Midspan
• Journal Name: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0143-005X
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2002 BMJ Publishing Group
• First Published: First published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 56(1):76-77
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher