Are driver's licenses issued within 3 years of cancer diagnosis a valid source of BMI data?

Michael C Brumm; Michele M West; Charles F Lynch; Brian J Smith

doi:10.1007/s10552-020-01318-9

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Are driver's licenses issued within 3 years of cancer diagnosis a valid source of BMI data?

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Are driver's licenses issued within 3 years of cancer diagnosis a valid source of BMI data?

Michael C Brumm, Michele M West, Charles F Lynch and Brian J Smith

Cancer causes & control, Vol.31(8), pp.777-786

08/2020

DOI: 10.1007/s10552-020-01318-9

PMCID: PMC8095168

PMID: 32506334

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/8095168View

Open Access

Abstract

Overweight and obesity are risk factors for several cancers; however, population-based cancer registries do not routinely collect data on body mass index (BMI). This study evaluated the utility of supplementing cancer registry data with BMI data derived from driver's license records. We linked self-reported height and weight data from driver's license records to directly measured values, obtained via medical record abstraction, in a sample of 712 adult Iowa residents with cancer diagnosed during 2007-2012. Matched BMI values were subjected to a comprehensive evaluation of quantitative and categorical measures of agreement between data sources. Driver's license issue dates preceded diagnosis dates in 60.7% of cases, with time lags ranging from 3.0 years pre-diagnosis to 2.9 years post-diagnosis. Statistical analysis of agreement between continuous BMI values and ordinal BMI categories yielded an overall intraclass correlation estimate of 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77, 0.82) and an overall weighted kappa estimate of 0.63 (95% CI 0.59, 0.68), respectively. Subgroup analyses indicated reduced reliability among obesity-related cancers, particularly multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Neither measurement order nor time lag significantly affected agreement between BMI values. These findings suggest that self-reported driver's license data provide a reasonable approximation of BMI, but are less precise than interview- and questionnaire-based methods. Furthermore, the degree of bias is seemingly unaffected by measurement order and time lag, but appears to become more pronounced as BMI itself increases.

Adult

Aged

Aged, 80 and over

Automobile Driving

Body Mass Index

Female

Humans

Iowa

Licensure

Male

Middle Aged

Neoplasms - diagnosis

Overweight - complications

Registries

Reproducibility of Results

Self Report

Young Adult

Details

Title: Subtitle: Are driver's licenses issued within 3 years of cancer diagnosis a valid source of BMI data?
Creators: Michael C Brumm - Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. michael-brumm@uiowa.edu
Michele M West - Iowa Cancer Registry, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA, USA
Charles F Lynch - Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA, USA
Brian J Smith - Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Cancer causes & control, Vol.31(8), pp.777-786
DOI: 10.1007/s10552-020-01318-9
PMID: 32506334
PMCID: PMC8095168
NLM abbreviation: Cancer Causes Control
ISSN: 0957-5243
eISSN: 1573-7225
Grant note: HHSN261201300020I / NCI NIH HHS P30 CA086862 / NCI NIH HHS HHSN261201300020C / NCI NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 08/2020
Academic Unit: Epidemiology; Biostatistics; Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
Record Identifier: 9984214709602771

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