2023 BRFSS Survey Results: Western North Carolina

Chronic Health Conditions

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

(Ever told) you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus,
or fibromyalgia?

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  Total
Respond.^
Yes No
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
North Carolina 4,066 1,303 27.2 25.4-29.1 2,763 72.8 70.9-74.6
Western 527 176 28.7 23.9-34.0 351 71.3 66.0-76.1
GENDER
Male 227 63 24.7 18.3-32.6 164 75.3 67.4-81.7
Female 300 113 32.5 25.8-40.0 187 67.5 60.0-74.2
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 439 155 32.1 26.6-38.1 284 67.9 61.9-73.4
Non-Hispanic Black 18 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other 66 *** *** *** *** *** ***
AGE
18-34 74 *** *** *** *** *** ***
35-44 62 *** *** *** *** *** ***
45-54 71 *** *** *** *** *** ***
55-64 98 *** *** *** *** *** ***
65-74 120 *** *** *** *** *** ***
75+ 92 *** *** *** *** *** ***
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 31 *** *** *** *** *** ***
H.S. or G.E.D. 115 41 29.7 20.6-40.7 74 70.3 59.3-79.4
Some Post-H.S. 169 58 24.6 17.7-33.2 111 75.4 66.8-82.3
College Graduate 211 63 28.1 21.1-36.3 148 71.9 63.7-78.9
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 185 90 49.3 39.6-59.0 95 50.7 41.0-60.4
No 324 79 16.8 12.5-22.2 245 83.2 77.8-87.5
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 57 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Veteran 467 156 28.9 23.8-34.7 311 71.1 65.3-76.2
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 229 42 14.9 9.9-21.6 187 85.1 78.4-90.1
Unemployed 20 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 194 89 51.4 41.3-61.4 105 48.6 38.6-58.7
Unable to Work 53 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Other not in Labor Force 26 *** *** *** *** *** ***
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 29 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 49 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$25,000- 34,999 52 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$35,000- 49,999 60 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$50,000- 74,999 76 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$75,000+ 145 39 25.0 17.2-34.8 106 75.0 65.2-82.8
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 116 *** *** *** *** *** ***
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 4 *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 41 *** *** *** *** *** ***
101% to 150% 40 *** *** *** *** *** ***
151% to 200% 50 *** *** *** *** *** ***
More than 200% 268 76 24.5 18.4-31.9 192 75.5 68.1-81.6
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 116 *** *** *** *** *** ***
HOUSING
Own 387 141 31.9 26.0-38.4 246 68.1 61.6-74.0
Rent 110 26 18.1 10.7-28.9 84 81.9 71.1-89.3
Other arrangement 25 *** *** *** *** *** ***
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Regional City or Suburban County 151 43 26.9 19.0-36.7 108 73.1 63.3-81.0
Rural 376 133 29.4 23.6-35.9 243 70.6 64.1-76.4
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 128 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 238 78 25.6 18.9-33.7 160 74.4 66.3-81.1
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 161 50 28.9 21.0-38.3 111 71.1 61.7-79.0
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 272 82 24.9 19.0-32.0 190 75.1 68.0-81.0
2nd Quartile 117 *** *** *** *** *** ***
3rd Quartile 138 *** *** *** *** *** ***

Back to Chronic Health Conditions.

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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