Validity of self-reported history of endodontic treatment in the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging

Introduction: Self-reported history of endodontic treatment (SRHET) has been used as a simplified method to estimate the history of endodontic disease and treatment. This study aimed to quantify the validity of SRHET, as reported in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), as a method to identify individuals who experienced endodontic treatment (ET) and to identify individuals who present with apical periodontitis (AP). Methods: SRHET was collected through the BLSA questionnaire in 247 participants. Data on ET and AP were determined from panoramic radiographs. The total number of ET, AP, and missing teeth were recorded for each individual. The validity of SRHET was determined based on ET and AP separately. Accuracy, efficiency, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (+PV and -PV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (+LR and -LR) were calculated according to standard methods. Results: After exclusions, 229 participants were available for ET analysis and 129 for AP analysis. The SRHET validity values were sensitivity (ET = 0.915, AP = 0.782), specificity (ET = 0.891, AP = 0.689), +PV (ET = 0.824, AP = 0.353), -PV (ET = 0.949, AP = 0.936), +LR (ET = 8.394, AP = 2.514), and -LR (ET = 0.095, AP = 0.316). Conclusions: SRHET was found to be a highly accurate method to predict ET but a weak predictor of the presence of AP among participants in the BLSA.