Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 2000 Jan;90(1):103–108. doi: 10.2105/ajph.90.1.103

Physician-evaluated and self-reported morbidity for predicting disability.

K F Ferraro 1, Y P Su 1
PMCID: PMC1446128  PMID: 10630145

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the predictive validity of physician-evaluated morbidity and self-reported morbidity on disability among adults. METHODS: Subjects from a large national survey (n = 6913) received a detailed medical examination by a physician and were asked about the presence of 36 health conditions at baseline. Disability measured 10 and 15 years later was regressed on the morbidity measures and covariates with tobit models. RESULTS: Although physician-evaluated morbidity and self-reported morbidity were associated with greater disability, self-reports of chronic nonserious illnesses manifested greater predictive validity. Disability was also higher for obese subjects and those of lower socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the predictive utility of self-reported morbidity measures on functional disability.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (101.3 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angel R., Guarnaccia P. J. Mind, body, and culture: somatization among Hispanics. Soc Sci Med. 1989;28(12):1229–1238. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(89)90341-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berkanovic E., Hurwicz M. L., Lachenbruch P. A. Concordant and discrepant views of patients' physical functioning. Arthritis Care Res. 1995 Jun;8(2):94–101. doi: 10.1002/art.1790080207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brown P. Naming and framing: the social construction of diagnosis and illness. J Health Soc Behav. 1995;Spec No:34–52. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Calkins D. R., Rubenstein L. V., Cleary P. D., Davies A. R., Jette A. M., Fink A., Kosecoff J., Young R. T., Brook R. H., Delbanco T. L. Failure of physicians to recognize functional disability in ambulatory patients. Ann Intern Med. 1991 Mar 15;114(6):451–454. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-114-6-451. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Coughlin S. S. Recall bias in epidemiologic studies. J Clin Epidemiol. 1990;43(1):87–91. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(90)90060-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Crimmins E. M., Hayward M. D., Saito Y. Differentials in active life expectancy in the older population of the United States. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1996 May;51(3):S111–S120. doi: 10.1093/geronb/51b.3.s111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Feldman J. J., Makuc D. M., Kleinman J. C., Cornoni-Huntley J. National trends in educational differentials in mortality. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 May;129(5):919–933. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115225. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ferraro K. F., Farmer M. M. Double jeopardy, aging as leveler, or persistent health inequality? A longitudinal analysis of white and black Americans. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1996 Nov;51(6):S319–S328. doi: 10.1093/geronb/51b.6.s319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ferraro K. F., Farmer M. M., Wybraniec J. A. Health trajectories: long-term dynamics among black and white adults. J Health Soc Behav. 1997 Mar;38(1):38–54. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Greiner P. A., Snowdon D. A., Greiner L. H. The relationship of self-rated function and self-rated health to concurrent functional ability, functional decline, and mortality: findings from the Nun Study. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1996 Sep;51(5):S234–S241. doi: 10.1093/geronb/51b.5.s234. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hall J. A., Roter D. L., Katz N. R. Meta-analysis of correlates of provider behavior in medical encounters. Med Care. 1988 Jul;26(7):657–675. doi: 10.1097/00005650-198807000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Harlow S. D., Linet M. S. Agreement between questionnaire data and medical records. The evidence for accuracy of recall. Am J Epidemiol. 1989 Feb;129(2):233–248. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115129. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Heliövaara M., Aromaa A., Klaukka T., Knekt P., Joukamaa M., Impivaara O. Reliability and validity of interview data on chronic diseases. The Mini-Finland Health Survey. J Clin Epidemiol. 1993 Feb;46(2):181–191. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(93)90056-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Himmelstein D. U., Woolhandler S. Care denied: US residents who are unable to obtain needed medical services. Am J Public Health. 1995 Mar;85(3):341–344. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.3.341. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Idler E. L., Angel R. J. Self-rated health and mortality in the NHANES-I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Am J Public Health. 1990 Apr;80(4):446–452. doi: 10.2105/ajph.80.4.446. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Idler E. L., Kasl S. V. Self-ratings of health: do they also predict change in functional ability? J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1995 Nov;50(6):S344–S353. doi: 10.1093/geronb/50b.6.s344. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Johnson R. J., Wolinsky F. D. The structure of health status among older adults: disease, disability, functional limitation, and perceived health. J Health Soc Behav. 1993 Jun;34(2):105–121. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kriegsman D. M., Penninx B. W., van Eijk J. T., Boeke A. J., Deeg D. J. Self-reports and general practitioner information on the presence of chronic diseases in community dwelling elderly. A study on the accuracy of patients' self-reports and on determinants of inaccuracy. J Clin Epidemiol. 1996 Dec;49(12):1407–1417. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(96)00274-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lawrence R. H., Jette A. M. Disentangling the disablement process. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1996 Jul;51(4):S173–S182. doi: 10.1093/geronb/51b.4.s173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lieu T. A., Newacheck P. W., McManus M. A. Race, ethnicity, and access to ambulatory care among US adolescents. Am J Public Health. 1993 Jul;83(7):960–965. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.7.960. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lubitz J., Prihoda R. The use and costs of Medicare services in the last 2 years of life. Health Care Financ Rev. 1984 Spring;5(3):117–131. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. MADDOX G. L. Some correlates of differences in self-assessment of health status among the elderly. J Gerontol. 1962 Apr;17:180–185. doi: 10.1093/geronj/17.2.180. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Markides K. S., Lee D. J., Ray L. A., Black S. A. Physicians' ratings of health in middle and old age: a cautionary note. J Gerontol. 1993 Jan;48(1):S24–S27. doi: 10.1093/geronj/48.1.s24. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Palmore E. B., Burchett B. M. Predictors of disability in the final year of life. J Aging Health. 1997 Aug;9(3):283–297. doi: 10.1177/089826439700900301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Thompson P. W., Pegley F. S. A comparison of disability measured by the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire disability scales (HAQ) in male and female rheumatoid outpatients. Br J Rheumatol. 1991 Aug;30(4):298–300. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/30.4.298. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Verbrugge L. M., Jette A. M. The disablement process. Soc Sci Med. 1994 Jan;38(1):1–14. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90294-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Wilson I. B., Cleary P. D. Linking clinical variables with health-related quality of life. A conceptual model of patient outcomes. JAMA. 1995 Jan 4;273(1):59–65. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Wolinsky F. D., Aguirre B. E., Fann L. J., Keith V. M., Arnold C. L., Niederhauer J. C., Dietrich K. Ethnic differences in the demand for physician and hospital utilization among older adults in major American cities: conspicuous evidence of considerable inequalities. Milbank Q. 1989;67(3-4):412–449. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES