2023 BRFSS Survey Results: Western 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
Western 488 150 23.4 19.0-28.5 338 76.6 71.5-81.0
GENDER
Male 205 69 23.4 17.3-30.9 136 76.6 69.1-82.7
Female 283 81 23.4 17.5-30.6 202 76.6 69.4-82.5
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 411 122 24.7 19.9-30.3 289 75.3 69.7-80.1
Non-Hispanic Black 16 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other 57 *** *** *** *** *** ***
AGE
18-34 54 *** *** *** *** *** ***
35-44 55 *** *** *** *** *** ***
45-54 65 *** *** *** *** *** ***
55-64 97 *** *** *** *** *** ***
65-74 115 *** *** *** *** *** ***
75+ 92 *** *** *** *** *** ***
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 24 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 101 32 24.2 15.6-35.5 69 75.8 64.5-84.4
Some Post-H.S. 160 50 20.3 13.9-28.7 110 79.7 71.3-86.1
College Graduate 201 59 25.9 19.0-34.2 142 74.1 65.8-81.0
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 172 64 35.4 26.3-45.7 108 64.6 54.3-73.7
No 298 82 17.9 13.4-23.4 216 82.1 76.6-86.6
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 54 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Veteran 431 121 21.1 16.7-26.4 310 78.9 73.6-83.3
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 202 34 10.3 6.5-15.9 168 89.7 84.1-93.5
Unemployed 16 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 192 82 45.3 35.7-55.2 110 54.7 44.8-64.3
Unable to Work 50 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 25 *** *** *** *** *** ***
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 26 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 44 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 48 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$35,000- 49,999 55 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$50,000- 74,999 70 17 16.1 8.7-27.7 53 83.9 72.3-91.3
$75,000+ 136 42 22.6 15.6-31.5 94 77.4 68.5-84.4
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 109 31 22.1 14.1-33.0 78 77.9 67.0-85.9
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 3 *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 38 *** *** *** *** *** ***
101% to 150% 32 *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 47 *** *** *** *** *** ***
More than 200% 251 77 21.9 16.5-28.5 174 78.1 71.5-83.5
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 109 31 22.1 14.1-33.0 78 77.9 67.0-85.9
HOUSING
Own 369 120 24.1 19.1-30.0 249 75.9 70.0-80.9
Rent 95 22 18.4 10.6-29.9 73 81.6 70.1-89.4
Other arrangement 20 *** *** *** *** *** ***
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Regional City or Suburban County 140 38 20.9 14.3-29.6 102 79.1 70.4-85.7
Rural 348 112 24.3 19.0-30.7 236 75.7 69.3-81.0
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 119 38 23.7 16.0-33.6 81 76.3 66.4-84.0
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 218 71 24.1 17.2-32.5 147 75.9 67.5-82.8
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 151 41 22.2 15.5-30.9 110 77.8 69.1-84.5
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 254 70 20.8 15.5-27.4 184 79.2 72.6-84.5
2nd Quartile 107 *** *** *** *** *** ***
3rd Quartile 127 39 24.9 16.5-35.8 88 75.1 64.2-83.5

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 08APR25.

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