Validating estimates of prevalence of non-communicable diseases based on household surveys: the symptomatic diagnosis study.
BMC Med
; 13: 15, 2015 Jan 26.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25620318
BACKGROUND: Easy-to-collect epidemiological information is critical for the more accurate estimation of the prevalence and burden of different non-communicable diseases around the world. Current measurement is restricted by limitations in existing measurement systems in the developing world and the lack of biometry tests for non-communicable diseases. Diagnosis based on self-reported signs and symptoms ("Symptomatic Diagnosis," or SD) analyzed with computer-based algorithms may be a promising method for collecting timely and reliable information on non-communicable disease prevalence. The objective of this study was to develop and assess the performance of a symptom-based questionnaire to estimate prevalence of non-communicable diseases in low-resource areas. METHODS: As part of the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium study, we collected 1,379 questionnaires in Mexico from individuals who suffered from a non-communicable disease that had been diagnosed with gold standard diagnostic criteria or individuals who did not suffer from any of the 10 target conditions. To make the diagnosis of non-communicable diseases, we selected the Tariff method, a technique developed for verbal autopsy cause of death calculation. We assessed the performance of this instrument and analytical techniques at the individual and population levels. RESULTS: The questionnaire revealed that the information on health care experience retrieved achieved 66.1% (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 65.6-66.5%) chance corrected concordance with true diagnosis of non-communicable diseases using health care experience and 0.826 (95% UI, 0.818-0.834) accuracy in its ability to calculate fractions of different causes. SD is also capable of outperforming the current estimation techniques for conditions estimated by questionnaire-based methods. CONCLUSIONS: SD is a viable method for producing estimates of the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in areas with low health information infrastructure. This technology can provide higher-resolution prevalence data, more flexible data collection, and potentially individual diagnoses for certain conditions.
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Inteligencia Artificial
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Métodos Epidemiológicos
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Prevalencia
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Encuestas y Cuestionarios
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Mexico
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Med
Asunto de la revista:
MEDICINA
Año:
2015
Tipo del documento:
Article