Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31840016›Full record

ArticleCurrent epidemiology reports2019

Differential item functioning and its relevance to epidemiology.

Richard N Jones

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Current epidemiology reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Internal validation methods to detect patient characteristics associated with differential item functioning in patient-reported outcome measures.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
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  6. Measuring what happens when bystanders help in drinking situations: The bystanders to alcohol risk scales-positive and negative consequences.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2025
    Article
  7. Examining differential item functioning in self-reported health survey data: via multilevel modeling.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Harmonized cognitive performance in an older adult cohort of Vietnamese American immigrants: The VIP study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
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  13. Unsupervised item response theory models for assessing sample heterogeneity in patient-reported outcomes measures.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2024
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Racial, Ethnic, and Geographic Diversity in Population Neuroscience.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2024
    Review
  16. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author.

Richard N JonesDirector, Quantitative Science Program, Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Department of Neurology, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Box G-BH, Providence, Rhode Island 02906-4800.

Funding

Psychometric Integrative Technology for Cognitive Health ResearchR01AG051170 · NIA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI JONES, RICHARD N · 2015 to 2019
$3.4M
Understanding Disparities in Mental Status AssessmentR01AG025308 · NIA · HEBREW REHABILITATION CENTER FOR AGED · PI JONES, RICHARD N · 2005 to 2008
$1.2M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG025308NIA NIH HHS R01 AG051170
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purpose of reviewIn this review I trace the origins, applications, limitations and future prospects for research on measurement item bias, or differential item functioning (DIF) in the context of health research. DIF arises in the context of using multiple item or symptom health instruments to rate the level of a particular condition, and describes the situation where not all persons at the same level at the same level of the underlying condition have the same probability of endorsing one or more symptoms. The presence of DIF can lead to biased assessment of group differences and confound risk factor and outcomes research. RECENT

findingsThe epidemiologic literature includes a great many applied, review, and methodological articles focusing on DIF. The preponderance of the literature appears in the areas of health-related quality of life, physical functioning, cognition, and mental health outcomes. SUMMARY: Epidemiologists and other researchers in the health sciences often rely upon multiple item rating scales or questionnaires to assess for the presence of or level of health conditions or states that are otherwise not directly observable. When population subgroups respond differently to a subset of the items, this is referred to as differential item functioning (DIF), and might be a source of bias.

Indexed as

DIFEpidemiologyFactor analysisIRTMeasurement invariancePsychometrics

Identifiers

PMID31840016
PMCPMC6910650

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.