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
Non-Hispanic White 2,206 677 28.4 26.0-30.9 1,529 71.6 69.1-74.0
GENDER
Male 955 319 30.2 26.5-34.1 636 69.8 65.9-73.5
Female 1,251 358 26.8 23.7-30.2 893 73.2 69.8-76.3
AGE
18-34 310 *** *** *** *** *** ***
35-44 251 20 9.2 5.5-15.1 231 90.8 84.9-94.5
45-54 324 65 19.8 14.7-26.2 259 80.2 73.8-85.3
55-64 425 143 34.9 28.8-41.5 282 65.1 58.5-71.2
65-74 470 214 48.8 42.7-55.0 256 51.2 45.0-57.3
75+ 398 223 57.5 50.6-64.1 175 42.5 35.9-49.4
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 74 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 395 148 33.8 28.4-39.8 247 66.2 60.2-71.6
Some Post-H.S. 606 181 25.9 21.9-30.4 425 74.1 69.6-78.1
College Graduate 1,122 307 24.8 21.8-28.1 815 75.2 71.9-78.2
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 82 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 127 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 168 70 36.8 27.1-47.7 98 63.2 52.3-72.9
$35,000- 49,999 231 88 37.2 29.3-46.0 143 62.8 54.0-70.7
$50,000- 74,999 302 80 21.9 17.2-27.5 222 78.1 72.5-82.8
$75,000+ 877 219 23.1 19.7-26.9 658 76.9 73.1-80.3
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 700 299 40.7 35.8-45.8 401 59.3 54.2-64.2
No 1,438 358 22.6 19.9-25.5 1,080 77.4 74.5-80.1
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 300 131 41.7 34.5-49.2 169 58.3 50.8-65.5
Non-Veteran 1,899 544 26.5 24.0-29.1 1,355 73.5 70.9-76.0
RURAL-URBAN CATEGORY1
Urban 626 170 24.3 20.4-28.6 456 75.7 71.4-79.6
Regional City or Suburban County 612 180 27.5 23.1-32.3 432 72.5 67.7-76.9
Rural 968 327 31.9 28.0-36.1 641 68.1 63.9-72.0
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 1,083 177 15.8 13.2-18.8 906 84.2 81.2-86.8
Unemployed 62 13 16.2 8.7-28.0 49 83.8 72.0-91.3
Retired 816 412 51.9 46.7-57.0 404 48.1 43.0-53.3
Unable to Work 121 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 103 *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 22 *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 100 *** *** *** *** *** ***
101% to 150% 84 *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 159 66 42.3 33.2-52.0 93 57.7 48.0-66.8
More than 200% 1,391 397 25.9 23.1-29.0 994 74.1 71.0-76.9
HOUSING
Own 1,672 554 30.5 27.7-33.5 1,118 69.5 66.5-72.3
Rent 404 87 18.2 13.8-23.7 317 81.8 76.3-86.2
Other arrangement 110 27 17.8 11.0-27.5 83 82.2 72.5-89.0
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 530 169 29.7 24.9-35.1 361 70.3 64.9-75.1
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 730 242 30.2 25.9-34.8 488 69.8 65.2-74.1
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 946 266 26.3 22.9-30.1 680 73.7 69.9-77.1
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 838 250 27.7 23.9-31.8 588 72.3 68.2-76.1
2nd Quartile 607 188 28.5 24.0-33.4 419 71.5 66.6-76.0
3rd Quartile 563 161 26.8 22.3-31.9 402 73.2 68.1-77.7
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 198 78 37.2 28.8-46.4 120 62.8 53.6-71.2

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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