The prevalence of maternal medical conditions during pregnancy and a validation of their reporting in hospital discharge data

Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2008 Feb;48(1):78-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1479-828X.2007.00818.x.

Abstract

Population health datasets are a valuable resource for studying maternal and obstetric health outcomes. However, their validity has not been thoroughly examined. We compared medical records from a random selection of New South Wales (NSW) women who gave birth in a NSW hospital in 2002 with coded hospital discharge records. We estimated the population prevalence of maternal medical conditions during pregnancy and found a tendency towards underreporting although specificities were high, indicating that false positives were uncommon.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / epidemiology
  • Kidney Diseases / epidemiology
  • Medical Records
  • New South Wales / epidemiology
  • Patient Discharge
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / epidemiology*
  • Pregnancy in Diabetics / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Thyroid Diseases / epidemiology