2023 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Cholesterol Awareness

Are you currently taking medicine prescribed by a doctor or other health professional for your cholesterol?*

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  Total
Respond.^		 Yes No
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
North Carolina 3,625 1,088 25.8 23.9-27.8 2,537 74.2 72.2-76.1
FEMALES 2,067 595 23.4 21.1-25.9 1,472 76.6 74.1-78.9
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 1,251 358 26.8 23.7-30.2 893 73.2 69.8-76.3
Non-Hispanic Black 370 114 24.9 19.8-30.8 256 75.1 69.2-80.2
Other 424 120 9.3 6.4-13.3 304 90.7 86.7-93.6
AGE
18-34 291 *** *** *** 284 98.4 96.1-99.3
35-44 284 22 4.7 2.6- 8.5 262 95.3 91.5-97.4
45-54 352 63 13.4 9.7-18.2 289 86.6 81.8-90.3
55-64 405 143 36.8 30.3-43.8 262 63.2 56.2-69.7
65-74 401 193 45.6 38.7-52.8 208 54.4 47.2-61.3
75+ 304 156 51.6 43.5-59.7 148 48.4 40.3-56.5
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 124 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 414 159 30.8 25.0-37.3 255 69.2 62.7-75.0
Some Post-H.S. 615 181 21.2 17.4-25.5 434 78.8 74.5-82.6
College Graduate 904 201 18.1 15.2-21.3 703 81.9 78.7-84.8
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 112 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 172 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 206 82 31.1 23.1-40.5 124 68.9 59.5-76.9
$35,000- 49,999 244 76 29.2 22.2-37.4 168 70.8 62.6-77.8
$50,000- 74,999 279 62 15.4 11.1-20.9 217 84.6 79.1-88.9
$75,000+ 597 116 15.6 12.2-19.6 481 84.4 80.4-87.8
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 697 283 38.0 33.0-43.2 414 62.0 56.8-67.0
No 1,305 293 16.6 14.2-19.3 1,012 83.4 80.7-85.8
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 67 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Veteran 1,993 576 23.5 21.1-26.1 1,417 76.5 73.9-78.9
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Urban 585 127 18.3 14.7-22.4 458 81.7 77.6-85.3
Regional City or Suburban County 494 125 22.3 17.9-27.3 369 77.7 72.7-82.1
Rural 988 343 28.7 24.8-33.0 645 71.3 67.0-75.2
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 975 139 11.1 8.8-13.9 836 88.9 86.1-91.2
Unemployed 89 19 17.0 9.3-29.0 70 83.0 71.0-90.7
Retired 650 317 48.0 42.5-53.5 333 52.0 46.5-57.5
Unable to Work 183 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 148 17 6.3 3.5-11.1 131 93.7 88.9-96.5
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 44 *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 177 63 28.6 20.2-38.9 114 71.4 61.1-79.8
101% to 150% 133 44 20.3 12.4-31.4 89 79.7 68.6-87.6
151% to 200% 161 60 37.8 28.5-48.1 101 62.2 51.9-71.5
More than 200% 1,067 261 19.2 16.4-22.4 806 80.8 77.6-83.6
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 692 238 27.7 23.1-32.8 454 72.3 67.2-76.9
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 574 167 24.9 20.5-29.9 407 75.1 70.1-79.5
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 801 190 20.2 17.0-24.0 611 79.8 76.0-83.0
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 614 156 20.5 16.9-24.6 458 79.5 75.4-83.1
2nd Quartile 530 139 23.1 18.7-28.2 391 76.9 71.8-81.3
3rd Quartile 530 136 21.8 17.8-26.4 394 78.2 73.6-82.2
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 393 164 38.6 30.7-47.1 229 61.4 52.9-69.3

Back to Cholesterol Awareness.

*Asked of respondents who report having had their cholesterol checked.
The results are not comparable to those from surveys conducted prior to 2020. Before 2020, this question was only asked of respondents who had a cholesterol test and were told their cholesterol levels were high. However, in the 2021 and 2023 versions, the question was asked of respondents who had a cholesterol test regardless of their cholesterol levels. As a result, the question was posed to many more respondents in 2021 and 2023, leading to a considerably smaller percentage reporting the use of cholesterol medication.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2023
are NOT comparable to 2010 and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on 2023 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

4Quartile of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index
(https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/index.html) for respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2023 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

^Use caution in interpreting cell sizes less than 50, % = Percentage, C.I.(95%) = Confidence Interval (at 95 percent probability level).
Percentages are weighted to population characteristics and therefore cannot be calculated exactly from the numbers in this table.

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This page was generated on 07APR25.

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