GP information
Documentation first General Practitioner data collection (1992-1993)†
Documentation second General Practitioner data collection (2000-2001)
Documentation third General Practitioner data collection (2005-2006)
Documentation fourth General Practitioner data collection (2010)
Documentation fifth General Practitioner data collection (2016)
†: the dates mentioned refer to the investigation period in which the corresponding GP data were collected, not to the respondent cycles involved.
LASA file name: LASABg01
Contact: Laura Schaap
Background
This is the first data collection among general practitioners (GP’s) which was set up to compare self-report data of community-dwelling elderly persons on the presence of a number of specific chronic diseases with data collected through general practitioners.
Measurement instruments in LASA
GP’s were approached if respondents had joined the mean interview in 1992/1993 (B-cycle) and had given informed consent. In total, 447 GP’s were approached, providing information about 2982 respondents.
All 447 GP’s of whom the patients had given their written informed consent were approached. The questionnaires were mailed in two waves. For each wave, reminders were sent 2 and 4 months after the questionnaires were mailed. The GP’s were offered a financial incentive of Hfl. 7,50 for every completed questionnaire they returned.
A total of 371 GP’s (83%) returned completed questionnaires on 2380 respondents (83.8% of those who gave informed consent). The response was 85.7% after correction for patients who were unknown to the GP (n=46), or of whom no records were available after they deceased (n=17). There was no difference between the response percentages of GP’s over the three regions (western, eastern, and southern parts of the Netherlands). The average number of returned questionnaires per GP was 6.5, with a range from 1 to 99.
Content of the GP questionnaire
The GP questionnaire of 1992/93 covers the presence and year of diagnosis of the following diseases: hypertension (incl. recent blood pressure measurements), claudication, abdominal aneurysm, heart condition, stroke, diabetes mellitus (incl. glucose, fructose and HbA1c levels), chronic non-specific lung disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia and malignancies (incl. location, histology, stage, treatment, metastases, prognosis). For most diseases, a question on the extent to which the disease affects daily living was included. In addition, up to five other chronic diseases and the corresponding year of diagnosis could be filled in.
Questionnaires
huisarts_vrl_B (in Dutch, upon request)
Variable information
LASABg01
(pdf)
Availability of information per wave 1
| B | C | D | E | 2B* | F* | G | H | 3B* | MB* | I* | J* | K* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP-information | X | X | - | X | X | UC | - | X | X | - | ||||
1 More information about the LASA data collection waves is available here.
* 2B=baseline second cohort;
3B=baseline third cohort;
MB=migrants: baseline first cohort;
F=under construction;
I, J, K=to be developed
Previous use in LASA
Kriegsman et al. (1996) state that patients’ self-reports on selected chronic diseases are fairly accurate, with the exceptions of atherosclerosis and arthritis. Overreporting and underreporting of specific diseases was associated with several personal characteristics. The results suggested that the tendency to overreport or underreport may be explained by denial by the patient, the tendency of patients to label symptoms or inaccuracy of GP records.
Galenkamp et al. (2014) compared self-reports with GP reported diseases in 2009 and examined how the prevalence of overreporting and underreporting had changed since 1992. Results showed that overreporting of chronic diseases became significantly more common over time, whereas under-reporting became less common.
Studies that used the GP data were amongst others:
- Kleipool, E.E.F., Hoogendijk, E.O., Trappenburg, M.C., Handoko, M.L., Huisman, M., Peters, M.J.L., Muller, M.J. (2018). Frailty in Older Adults with Cardiovascular Disease: Cause, Effect or Both? Aging and Disease, 9, 489-497.
- Licht-Strunk, E., Bremmer, M.A., Van Marwijk, H.W.J., Deeg, D.J.H., Hoogendijk, W.J.G., De Haan, M., Van Tilburg, W., Beekman, A.T.F. (2004). Depression in older persons with versus without vascular disease in the open population: Similar depressive symptom patterns, more disability. Journal of Affective Disorders, 83, 155-160.
- Marijnissen, R.M., Wouts, L., Schoevers, R.A., Bremmer, M.A., Beekman, A.T.F., Comijs, H.C., Oude Voshaar, R.C. (2014). Depression in context of low neuroticism is a risk factor for stroke A 9-year cohort study. Neurology, 83, 1692-1698.
- Pouwer, F., Beekman, A.T.F., Nijpels, G., Dekker, J.M., Snoek, F.J., Kostense, P.J., Heine, R.J., Deeg, D.J.H. (2003). Rates and risks for co-morbid depression in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Results from a community-based study. Diabetologia, 46, 892-898.
- Schram, M.T., Frijters, D.H.M., Van de Lisdonk, E.H., Ploemacher, J., De Craen, A.J.M., De Waal, M.W.M., Van Rooij, F.J., Heeringa, J., Hofman, A., Deeg, D.J.H., Schellevis, F.G. (2008). Setting and registry characteristics affect the prevalence and nature of multimorbidity in the elderly. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 61, 1104-1112.
- Verweij, L.M., Van Schoor , N.M., Deeg, D.J.H., Dekker, J., Visser, M. (2009). Physical activity and incident clinical knee osteoarthritis in older adults. Arthritis & Rheumatism (Arthritis Care & Research), 61, 2, 152-157.
- Yoneda, T.B., Rush, J., Graham, E.K., Berg, Al, Comijs, H.C., Katz, M.J., Lipton, R.B., Johansson, B., Mroczek, D.K., Piccinin, A.M. (2020). Increases in Neuroticism May Be an Early Indicator of Dementia: A Coordinated Analysis. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Volume 75, 2, 251-262.
References
- Galenkamp H, Huisman M, Braam AW, Schellevis FG, Deeg DJH. Disease prevalence based on older people’s self-reports increased, but patient-general practitioner agreement remained stable, 1992-2009. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2014, 67 (7): 773-780.
- Kriegsman, DM, Penninx BW, van Eijk JT, Boeke AJ, Deeg DJ. 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):1407-17.
Date of last update: February 16, 2021 (LvZ)
