Medical conditions in patients with pancreatic and biliary diseases - Validity and agreement between data from questionnaires and medical records

The aims of the study were to assess the agreement between data from person al interviews and medical records on selected medical conditions, to evalua te the validity of each source of information, and to estimate the prevalen ce of these conditions in pancreatobiliary pathology. Between 1992 and 1995 , 602 patients with pancreatobiliary diseases were included in the PANKRAS II Study. Information from interview and medical records was available in 8 8% of cases. The agreement between both data sources was poor only for chol ecystitis and mental disorders. The validity of both sources of information was high or acceptable for all conditions except for cholecystitis. Preval ence of past medical conditions was similar to that reported previously and varied according to diagnosis, gender, age, educational level, and hospita l of admission. Research aimed at assessing the prevalence of less common d iseases should consider subject- and health-related factors in collecting i nformation.