Patient demographic and psychosocial characteristics associated with 30-day recall of self-reported lower urinary tract symptoms. Neurourol Urodyn 2020 Sep;39(7):1939-1948
Date
08/29/2020Pubmed ID
32856723Pubmed Central ID
PMC8220594DOI
10.1002/nau.24461Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85088392697 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 4 CitationsAbstract
AIMS: Measurement of self-reported lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) typically uses a recall period, for example, "In the past 30 days…." Compared to averaged daily reports, 30-day recall is generally unbiased, but recall bias varies by item. We examined the associations between personal characteristics (eg, age, symptom bother) and 30-day recall of LUTS using items from the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network Comprehensive Assessment of Self-reported Urinary Symptoms questionnaire.
METHODS: Participants (127 women and 127 men) were recruited from 6 US tertiary care sites. They completed daily assessments for 30 days and a 30-day recall assessment at the end of the study month. For each of the 18 tested items, representing 10 LUTS, the average of the participant's daily responses was modeled as a function of their 30-day recall, the personal characteristic, and the interaction between the 30-day recall and the characteristic in separate general linear regression models, adjusted for sex.
RESULTS: Nine items representing 7 LUTS exhibited under- or overreporting (recall bias) for at least 25% of participants. Bias was associated with personal characteristics for six LUTS. Underreporting of incontinence was associated with older age, lower anxiety, and negative affect; overreporting of other LUTS was associated with, symptom bother, symptom variability, anxiety, and depression.
CONCLUSIONS: We identified under- or overreporting that was associated with personal characteristics for six common LUTS. Some cues (eg, less bother and lower anxiety) were related to recall bias in an unexpected direction. Thus, providers should exercise caution when making judgments about the accuracy of a patient's symptom recall based on patient demographic and psychosocial characteristics.
Author List
Flynn KE, Mansfield SA, Smith AR, Gillespie BW, Bradley CS, Cella D, Helmuth ME, Lai HH, Kirkali Z, Talaty P, Griffith JW, Weinfurt KP, LURN Study GroupAuthor
Kathryn Eve Flynn PhD Vice Chair, Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAged
Anxiety
Depression
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Self Report
