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Calendar Year 2020 Results

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

2020 BRFSS Topics for Region 5

BRFSS 2020 Annual Results Technical Notes

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Health Status (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Would you say that in general your health is:
• General Health Indicator for Healthy North Carolina 2020

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Healthy Days (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Now thinking about your physical health, which includes physical illness and injury, for how many days during the past 30 days was your physical health not good?
• Now thinking about your mental health, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days during the past 30 days was your mental health not good?
• During the past 30 days, for about how many days did poor physical or mental health keep you from doing your usual activities, such as self-care, work, or recreation?
• Frequent Mental Distress (within the past 30 days)

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Health Care Access (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Do you have any kind of health care coverage, including health insurance, prepaid plans such as HMOs, or government plans such as Medicare?
• Do you have any kind of insurance coverage that pays for some or all of your routine dental care including dental insurance prepaid plans such as HMOs or government plans such as Medicaid?
• Health Insurance Coverage (Under Age 65)
• Health Insurance Coverage for Those Employed for Wages (Under Age 65)
• Do you have one person you think of as your personal doctor or health care provider?
• Was there a time during the last 12 months when you needed to see a doctor, but could not because of the cost?
• About how long has it been since you last visited a doctor for a routine checkup?
• What is the primary source of your health care coverage?
• Health care coverage status past 12 months

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Exercise (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• During the past month, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise?

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Inadequate Sleep (see results for 2016, 2018)

• Getting recommended hours of sleep
• On average, how many hours of sleep do you get in a 24-hour period?

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Chronic Health Conditions (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional EVER told you that you had any of the following?

• (Ever told) you had a heart attack also called a myocardial infarction?
• (Ever told) you had angina or coronary heart disease?
• (Ever told) you had a stroke?
• History of Any Cardiovascular Diseases (heart attack or coronary heart disease or stroke)
• (Ever told) you had asthma?
• Do you still have asthma?
• (Ever told) you had skin cancer?
• (Ever told) you had any other types of cancer?
• (Ever told) you have (COPD) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema or chronic bronchitis?
• (Ever told) you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?
• (Ever told) you have a depressive disorder, including depression, major depression, dysthymia, or minor depression?
• (Ever told) you have kidney disease?
• (Ever told) you have diabetes?
• Summary Index of Chronic Health Conditions

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Oral Health (see results for 2016, 2018)

• How long has it been since you last visited a dentist or a dental clinic for any reason?
• How many of your permanent teeth have been removed because of tooth decay or gum disease? Do not include teeth lost for other reasons, such as injury or orthodontics.
• Adults aged 18+ that have had permanent teeth extracted
• Adults aged 65+ who have had all their natural teeth extracted (calculated variable)
• In the past year, have you had a dentist or dental hygienist check for oral cancer by pulling on your tongue with gauze wrapped around it, feeling under the tongue and inside the cheeks, and checking the back of your throat?

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Demographics (Disability Questions) (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Are you deaf or do you have serious difficulty hearing?
• Are you blind or do you have serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses?
• Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?
• Do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?
• Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
• Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?
• Functional Disability Status

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Tobacco Use (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life?
• Do you now smoke cigarettes everyday, some days, or not at all?
• During the past 12 months, have you stopped smoking for one day or longer because you were trying to quit smoking?
• How long has it been since you last smoked a cigarette, even one or two puffs?
• Do you currently use chewing tobacco or snuff every day, some days, or not at all?
• Smoking Status
• Current Smoker
• Use of Multiple Tobacco Products
• Use of Any Tobacco Product

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Alcohol Consumption (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• During the past 30 days, how many days per week or per month did you have at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage such as beer, wine, a malt beverage or liquor?
• One drink is equivalent to a 12 ounce beer, a 5 ounce glass of wine, or a drink with one shot of liquor.
  During the past 30 days, on the days when you drank, about how many drinks did you drink on the average?
• Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have [5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women] on an occasion?
• During the past 30 days, what is the largest number of drinks you had on any occasion?
• Binge Drinking
• Heavy Drinking
• Moderate Drinking Guidelines
• Excessive Drinking

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Immunization (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• During the past 12 months, have you had either a flu vaccine that was sprayed in your nose
  or a flu shot injected into your arm?
• Have you ever had a pneumonia shot also known as a pneumococcal vaccine?
• Have you ever had the shingles or zoster vaccine?

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Falls (see results for 2016, 2018)

• In the past 12 months, how many times have you fallen?
• How many of these falls caused an injury that limited your regular activities for at least a day or caused you to go to see a doctor?

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Seatbelt Use (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Drinking & Driving (see results for 2016, 2018)

• How often do you use seatbelts when you drive or ride in a car?
• During the past 30 days, how many times have you driven when you've had perhaps too much to drink?

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Breast & Cervical Cancer Screening (see results for 2016, 2018)

• A mammogram is an x-ray of each breast to look for breast cancer. Have you ever had a mammogram?
• How long has it been since you had your last mammogram?
• Had a mammogram within the past 2 years (Age 40+) (CDC calculated variable)
• Women age 50-74 who have had a mammogram in the past two years. (CDC calculated variable)
• A Pap test is a test for cancer of the cervix. Have you ever had a Pap test?
• How long has it been since you had your last Pap test?
• Women age 21-65 who have had a pap test in the past three years. (CDC calculated variable)
• Have you ever had an HPV test?
• How long has it been since you had your last HPV test?
• Have you had a hysterectomy?

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Prostate Cancer Screening (see results for 2016, 2018)

• A Prostate-Specific Antigen test, also called a PSA test, is a blood test used to check men for prostate cancer. Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional EVER talked with you about the advantages of the PSA test?
• Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional EVER talked with you about the disadvantages of the PSA test?
• Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional EVER recommended that you have a PSA test?
• Have you ever had a PSA test?
• How long has it been since you had your last PSA test?
• What was the MAIN reason you had this PSA test
• Male respondents aged 40+ that have had a PSA test in the past 2 years.

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Colorectal Cancer Screening (see results for 2016, 2018)

• A colonoscopy checks the entire colon. You are usually given medication through a needle in your arm to make you sleepy and told to have someone else drive you home after the test. Have you ever had a colonoscopy?
• How long has it been since you had this test? (Colonoscopy)
• A sigmoidoscopy checks part of the colon and you are fully awake. Have you ever had a sigmoidoscopy?
• How long has it been since you had this test? (Sigmoidoscopy)
• Another test uses a special kit to obtain a small amount of stool at home to determine whether the stool contains blood and returns the kit to the doctor or the lab. Have you ever had this test using a home kit?
• How long has it been since you had this test? (Blood Stool Test)
• Another test uses a special kit to obtain an entire bowel movement at home and returns the kit to a lab. Have you ever had this test?
• How long has it been since you had this test? (Stool DNA Test)
• For a virtual colonoscopy, your colon is filled with air and you are moved through a donut shaped X-ray machine as you lie on your back and then on your stomach. Have you ever had a virtual colonoscopy?
• How long has it been since you had this test? (Virtual Colonoscopy)
• Respondents age 50-75 who have had a blood stool test within the past year. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents age 50-75 that have had a colonoscopy within the past ten years. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents aged 50-75 who have had a sigmoidoscopy within the past ten years and a blood stool test in the past year. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents age 50-75 that have had a sigmoidoscopy within the past five years. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents aged 50-75 who have had a sigmoidoscopy within the past ten years. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents age 50-75 that have had a stool dna test within the past three years. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents aged 50-75 who have had a virtual colonoscopy within the past five years. (CDC calculated variable)
• Respondents aged 50-75 who have fully met the USPSTF recommendations. (CDC calculated variable)

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HIV/AIDS (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Including fluid testing from your mouth, but not counting tests you may have had as part of blood donation, have you ever been tested for HIV?
• Do any of these situations apply to you in the past year: have used intravenous drugs, have been treated for a sexually transmitted or venereal disease, have given or received money or drugs in exchange for sex, had anal sex without a condom, had four or more sex partners?
• Time of last HIV test (Not including blood donations)

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Cognitive Decline

• During the past 12 months, have you experienced confusion or memory loss that is happening more often or is getting worse?
• During the past 12 months, as a result of confusion or memory loss, how often have you given up day-to-day household activities or chores you used to do, such as cooking, cleaning, taking medications, driving, or paying bills?
• As a result of confusion or memory loss, how often do you need assistance with these day-to-day activities?
• When you need help with these day-to-day activities, how often are you able to get the help that you need?
• During the past 12 months, how often has confusion or memory loss interfered with your ability to work, volunteer, or engage in social activities outside the home?
• Have you or anyone else discussed your confusion or memory loss with a health care professional?
• Has Functional Limitation due to Subjective Cognitive Decline

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E-Cigarettes (see results for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Have you ever used an e-cigarette or other electronic vaping product, even just one time, in your entire life?
• Do you now use e-cigarettes or other electronic vaping products every day, some days, or not at all?
• E-Cigarette/Vaping Status

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Cancer Survivorship: Type of Cancer (see results for 2019)

• You’ve told us that you have had cancer. I would like to ask you a few more questions about your cancer. How many different types of cancer have you had?
• At what age were you told that you had cancer?
• What type of cancer was it?

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Cancer Survivorship: Course of Treatment

• Are you currently receiving treatment for cancer?
• What type of doctor provides the majority of your health care?
• Did any doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever give you a written summary of all the cancer treatments that you received?
• Have you ever received instructions from a doctor, nurse, or other health professional about where you should return or who you should see for routine cancer checkups after completing your treatment for cancer?
• Were these instructions written down or printed on paper for you?
• With your most recent diagnosis of cancer, did you have health insurance that paid for all or part of your cancer treatment?
• Were you ever denied health insurance or life insurance coverage because of your cancer?
• Did you participate in a clinical trial as part of your cancer treatment?

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Cancer Survivorship: Pain Management

• Do you currently have physical pain caused by your cancer or cancer treatment?
• Would you say your pain is currently under control?

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Secondhand Smoke (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• On how many of the past 7 days, did someone smoke in your indoor workplace while you were there?
• Workplace Secondhand Smoke Exposure Indicator for Healthy North Carolina 2020
• On how many of the past 7 days, did anyone smoke in your home while you were there?
• On how many of the past 7 days, did you smell tobacco smoke from someone else's cigarette, cigar, or pipe drifting into your home from nearby apartments or from outside?

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Other Tobacco Products (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• During the past 30 days, did you smoke cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars?
• During the past 30 days, have you used a hookah or water pipe?

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Smoking Cessation (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• In the past 12 months, did any doctor, dentist, nurse, or other health professional advise you to quit smoking cigarettes or using any other tobacco products?
• Did your doctor or health provider recommend medications and/or discuss methods and strategies other than medication (such as referrals to Quitline, counseling opportunities, or educational materials such as booklets or pamphlets) to assist you to quit smoking?

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Cardiovascular Health (see results for 2016, 2018)

• Following your heart attack, did you go to any kind of outpatient rehabilitation? This is sometimes called rehab.
• Following your stroke, did you go to any kind of outpatient rehabilitation? This is sometimes called rehab.

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Diabetes Control (see results for 2016, 2018)

• Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional EVER told you that you have diabetes?
• How old were you when you were told you have diabetes?
• Urine tests for protein (microalbuminuria test) check if your kidneys are working properly. When was the last time that you received a urine test for protein?
• Has a doctor ever told you that diabetes has affected your kidneys?
• Including times when checked by a family member or friend, about how often do you check your feet for any sores or irritations?
• When was the last time you had an eye exam in which the pupils were dilated, making you temporarily sensitive to bright light?

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Gambling Behavior (see results for 2016, 2018)

• Gambling Status
• In the past 12 months, have you gambled or played any games for money?
• How much money do you usually wager on a day when you play for money?
• Have you ever tried to cut down or control your gambling?
• Have you ever lied to family members or friends about how much you gamble or how much money you have lost gambling?
• Have there ever been periods for 2 weeks or more when you spent a lot of time thinking about gambling or planning future gambling?

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Derived Variables and Risk Factors (see results for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

• Body Mass Index Grouping-Underweight, Recommended Range, Overweight and Obese
• Adults who have a body mass index greater than 25.00 (Overweight or Obese)
• Health Insurance Coverage - Age Under 65
• Health Insurance Coverage for Those Employed for Wages (Age Under 65)
• Smoking Status
• Current Smoker
• Binge Drinking
• Heavy Drinking
• Had a mammogram within the past 2 years (Age 40+)
• Women age 50-74 who have had a mammogram in the past two years
• Women age 21-65 who have had a pap test in the past three years
• Males aged 40+ that have had a PSA test in the past 2 years
• Excessive Drinking

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