Estimation of the Misclassification Rate of Self-reported Visual Disability

Abstract

Purpose: To estimate the misclassification rate of self-reported visual disabilities in a hospital-based population with known visual impairment. Methods: Subjects (N=570) were recruited among patients aged 50 years and more and classified to three categories of visual impairment level. The questionnaire was administered to consenting patients through a telephone interview. Data collected from questionnaires and medical records were compared regarding severity of visual impairment. Sensitivity and specificity were determined for each question. Predictive ability and misclassification rates were computed for various prevalences. Results: Questions related to near and far distance visual acuity with glasses have both a good sensitivity (82.6% and 81.8%) and a good specificity (85.6% and 88.9%) for the presence of severe visual impairment. Conclusion: The findings allow the determination of the misclassification rate and predictive ability. This could be useful to estimate the prevalence of visual impairment from health surveys. La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

Impact of self-reported visual impairment on quality of life in the Ibadan study of ageing

“…However self reports of visual impairment is an acceptable and useful way of determining visual acuity in epidemiological surveys and has been found to correlate well with objective measures of visual acuity in previous studies. 20,21,22 Analysis of test-retest assessment of self reports of the respondents showed that they were reliably made. Quality of life was measured by self-report, using a generic rather than a vision-specific tool.…”

Concurrent Visual and Hearing Impairment and Risk of Mortality

“…In a study of 570 persons aged 50 years and older, questions related to visual acuity were found to have a sensitivity of approximately 82% and a specificity ranging from 87% to 89%. 51 However, visual acuity, contrast and glare sensitivity, stereoacuity, and visual fields are significant independent risk factors for self-reported visual disability in the elderly, and visual acuity alone is not the only dimension of subjective visual disability. 52 Agreement between self-reported hearing loss and pure-tone airconduction audiometry has a sensitivity ranging from 76% to 93% and a specificity ranging from 56% to 82%.…”

Disparity in Prevalence of Self-Reported Visual Impairment in Older Adults Among U.S. Race-Ethnic Subgroups

“…For example, in one study, the specificity and sensitivity of self-reported VI with clinical visual acuity measures as the ‘gold standard’ range from 82%–89%. 36 In another study, the concordance of distance acuity results with the question “Are you able to recognize a face from a distance of four meters” was reported to be 79%. 37 However, the use of visual acuity as the ‘gold-standard’ or the only dimension of VI to evaluate self-reported VI is subject to its own limitations given that other components of the visual system can affect visual functioning.…”