OBJECTIVE: To test the validity of age at menarche self-reported in adulthood and examine whether socioeconomic position, education, experience of gynaecological events and psychological symptoms influence the accuracy of recall. DESIGN: Prospective birth cohort study. SETTING: England, Scotland and Wales. PARTICIPANTS: 1050 women from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, with two measures of age at menarche, one recorded in adolescence and the other self-reported at age 48 years. RESULTS: By calculating the limits of agreement, kappa statistic and Pearson's correlation coefficients (r), we found that the validity of age at menarche self-reported in middle age compared with that recorded in adolescence was moderate (kappa = 0.35, r = 0.66, n = 1050). Validity was improved by categorising age at menarche into three groups: early, normal and late (kappa = 0.43). Agreement was influenced by educational level and having had a stillbirth or miscarriage. CONCLUSIONS: The level of validity shown in this study throws some doubt on whether it is justifiable to use age at menarche self-reported in middle age. It is likely to introduce error and bias, and researchers should be aware of these limitations and use such measures with caution.
OBJECTIVE: To test the validity of age at menarche self-reported in adulthood and examine whether socioeconomic position, education, experience of gynaecological events and psychological symptoms influence the accuracy of recall. DESIGN: Prospective birth cohort study. SETTING: England, Scotland and Wales. PARTICIPANTS: 1050 women from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, with two measures of age at menarche, one recorded in adolescence and the other self-reported at age 48 years. RESULTS: By calculating the limits of agreement, kappa statistic and Pearson's correlation coefficients (r), we found that the validity of age at menarche self-reported in middle age compared with that recorded in adolescence was moderate (kappa = 0.35, r = 0.66, n = 1050). Validity was improved by categorising age at menarche into three groups: early, normal and late (kappa = 0.43). Agreement was influenced by educational level and having had a stillbirth or miscarriage. CONCLUSIONS: The level of validity shown in this study throws some doubt on whether it is justifiable to use age at menarche self-reported in middle age. It is likely to introduce error and bias, and researchers should be aware of these limitations and use such measures with caution.
Authors: Isabel dos Santos Silva; Bianca L De Stavola; Vera Mann; Diana Kuh; Rebecca Hardy; Michael E J Wadsworth Journal: Int J Epidemiol Date: 2002-04 Impact factor: 7.196
Authors: Anne Herva; Jari Jokelainen; Anneli Pouta; Juha Veijola; Markku Timonen; Juha T Karvonen; Matti Joukamaa Journal: J Psychosom Res Date: 2004-10 Impact factor: 3.006
Authors: Lusine Yaghjyan; Graham A Colditz; Bernard Rosner; Kimberly A Bertrand; Rulla M Tamimi Journal: Breast Cancer Res Treat Date: 2016-06-28 Impact factor: 4.872
Authors: E C Jansen; L Zhou; P X K Song; B N Sánchez; A Mercado; H Hu; M Solano; K E Peterson; M M Tellez-Rojo Journal: J Dev Orig Health Dis Date: 2018-04-30 Impact factor: 2.401
Authors: Anna Cabanes; Nieves Ascunce; Enrique Vidal; María Ederra; Ana Barcos; Nieves Erdozain; Virginia Lope; Marina Pollán Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2009-12-04 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Lynne C Giles; Gary F V Glonek; Vivienne M Moore; Michael J Davies; Mary A Luszcz Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2010-06-15 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Amelia K Wesselink; Lauren A Wise; Elizabeth E Hatch; Kenneth J Rothman; Ellen M Mikkelsen; Joseph B Stanford; Craig J McKinnon; Shruthi Mahalingaiah Journal: Ann Epidemiol Date: 2016-05-31 Impact factor: 3.797