K. Fredriksson et al., VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF SELF-REPORTED RETROSPECTIVELY COLLECTED DATA ON SICK LEAVE RELATED TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 24(5), 1998, pp. 425-431
Objectives The aim was to study the reliability and validity of retros
pective data, collected by self-report, on sick leave related to muscu
loskeletal diseases. Methods The study groups consisted of 66 and 306
subjects, for the reliability and validity studies, respectively. They
were all part of a wider study of risk factors for musculoskeletal di
sorders, the REBUS study, conducted in Stockholm in 1993. Reliability
was tested using a test-retest design regarding self-reported sick lea
ve related to musculoskeletal diseases in 1970-1993. The validity stud
y comprised the period 1990-1994. Self-reported and registered sick-le
ave data related to musculoskeletal diseases were collected and analyz
ed regarding concordance. Data about current musculoskeletal disorders
and different work-related conditions were collected and analyzed reg
arding possible effect- and exposure-dependent misclassification. Resu
lts The test-retest reliability study showed the percentage of agreeme
nt to be between 0.88 and 0.97, and the kappa values were between 0.73
and 0.93. The validity study of the concordance between the self-repo
rted and registered data showed high agreement and specificity, but th
e sensitivity was sometimes lower. All the kappa values exceeded 0.50.
No effect- or exposure-dependent misclassification was found. Conclus
ions The validity of retrospectively collected self-reported sick-leav
e data was sufficient for use as a measure of musculoskeletal morbidit
y in the analyses of associations with work-related conditions. Becaus
e of the relatively low sensitivity, such data will underestimate the
prevalence of sick, leave and should not be used for surveys of morbid
ity.