Panagi, Laura;
White, Simon R;
Patel, Sohum;
Bennett, Sophie;
Shafran, Roz;
Ford, Tamsin;
(2022)
The importance of definitions in the measurement of long-term health conditions in childhood. Variations in prevalence of long-term health conditions in the UK using data from the Millennium Cohort Study, 2004 - 2015.
International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research
, Article e1926. 10.1002/mpr.1926.
(In press).
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Abstract
Objectives To explore the impact of various measurements of long-term health conditions (LTCs) on the resulting prevalence estimates using data from a nationally representative dataset. Methods Children and young people in the Millennium Cohort Study were followed at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 years (N = 15,631). We estimated the weighted prevalence of LTCs at each time point and examined the degree to which estimates agreed with alternate health indicators (special educational needs and disability [SEND], specific chronic conditions, and common chronicity criteria) using descriptive analyses, Cohen's kappa statistic, and percentage agreement. Results The estimated weighted prevalence of LTCs peaked at 5 years old (20%). Despite high percentage agreement, we observed at best moderate chance-corrected agreement between the type of LTC and reasons for SEND (kappas from 0.02 to 0.56, percentage agreement from 97% to 99%) or specified chronic conditions (kappas from 0.002 to 0.02, percentage agreement from 73% to 97%). Applying chronicity criteria decreased the estimated weighted prevalence of LTCs (3%). Conclusion How long-term conditions are defined drastically alters the estimated weighted prevalence of LTCs. Improved clarity and consistency in the definition and measurement of LTCs is urgently needed to underpin policy and commissioning of services.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The importance of definitions in the measurement of long-term health conditions in childhood. Variations in prevalence of long-term health conditions in the UK using data from the Millennium Cohort Study, 2004 - 2015 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/mpr.1926 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1926 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Childhood definitions, long-term conditions, measurement |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10149079 |
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