2024 BRFSS Survey Results: North Carolina

Cognitive Decline

During the past 12 months, have you experienced difficulties with thinking or memory that are happening more often or are getting worse?*

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  Total
Respond.^
Yes No
N % C.I.(95%) N % C.I.(95%)
TOTAL 2,259 288 12.4 10.9-14.2 1,971 87.6 85.8-89.1
GENDER
Male 936 124 12.8 10.5-15.5 812 87.2 84.5-89.5
Female 1,323 164 12.1 10.1-14.5 1,159 87.9 85.5-89.9
RACE/ETHNICITY
Non-Hispanic White 1,612 213 12.8 11.0-14.9 1,399 87.2 85.1-89.0
Non-Hispanic Black 373 50 12.0 8.8-16.1 323 88.0 83.9-91.2
Non-Hispanic Other 74 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Hispanic 180 14 8.1 4.4-14.4 166 91.9 85.6-95.6
AGE
45-54 558 55 8.7 6.4-11.7 503 91.3 88.3-93.6
55-64 592 89 15.3 12.1-19.1 503 84.7 80.9-87.9
65-74 568 62 11.8 8.9-15.5 506 88.2 84.5-91.1
75+ 488 81 15.6 11.8-20.4 407 84.4 79.6-88.2
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 205 21 12.6 7.6-20.1 184 87.4 79.9-92.4
H.S. or G.E.D. 450 51 12.0 8.9-16.0 399 88.0 84.0-91.1
Some Post-H.S. 636 86 12.5 9.8-15.7 550 87.5 84.3-90.2
College Graduate 963 130 12.7 10.5-15.3 833 87.3 84.7-89.5
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 841 211 24.4 20.9-28.2 630 75.6 71.8-79.1
No 1,393 69 5.0 3.8- 6.5 1,324 95.0 93.5-96.2
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 287 54 18.0 13.5-23.8 233 82.0 76.2-86.5
Non-Veteran 1,970 234 11.6 10.0-13.5 1,736 88.4 86.5-90.0
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 923 81 8.5 6.6-10.9 842 91.5 89.1-93.4
Unemployed 72 *** *** *** 62 91.0 83.2-95.4
Retired 985 141 13.8 11.4-16.7 844 86.2 83.3-88.6
Unable to Work 182 49 28.7 21.2-37.5 133 71.3 62.5-78.8
Other not in Labor Force 74 *** *** *** 69 91.4 78.8-96.8
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 74 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 155 28 16.3 10.7-24.0 127 83.7 76.0-89.3
$25,000- 34,999 163 18 15.5 8.7-26.0 145 84.5 74.0-91.3
$35,000- 49,999 289 39 10.0 6.7-14.7 250 90.0 85.3-93.3
$50,000-74,999 251 40 16.4 11.6-22.7 211 83.6 77.3-88.4
$75,000-100,000 235 38 15.6 10.9-21.9 197 84.4 78.1-89.1
$100,000-150,000 222 30 11.4 7.6-16.9 192 88.6 83.1-92.4
$150,000+ 283 22 8.1 5.1-12.6 261 91.9 87.4-94.9
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 587 60 10.5 7.7-14.0 527 89.5 86.0-92.3
POVERTY LEVEL1
Less than 50% 36 *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 114 18 16.2 10.0-25.2 96 83.8 74.8-90.0
101% to 150% 222 34 16.5 10.9-24.2 188 83.5 75.8-89.1
151% to 200% 103 *** *** *** 96 96.2 91.0-98.5
More than 200% 1,184 160 12.9 10.8-15.3 1,024 87.1 84.7-89.2
Don't know/Not sure or Refused 587 60 10.5 7.7-14.0 527 89.5 86.0-92.3
HOUSING
Own 1,749 214 11.7 10.0-13.5 1,535 88.3 86.5-90.0
Rent 406 59 16.3 12.2-21.3 347 83.7 78.7-87.8
Other arrangement 86 *** *** *** *** *** ***
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT2
Urban 639 79 12.4 9.7-15.7 560 87.6 84.3-90.3
Regional City or Suburban County 655 90 12.3 9.6-15.5 565 87.7 84.5-90.4
Rural 965 119 12.6 10.1-15.6 846 87.4 84.4-89.9
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 485 73 14.9 11.5-19.0 412 85.1 81.0-88.5
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 795 99 11.6 9.1-14.6 696 88.4 85.4-90.9
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 979 116 11.9 9.6-14.6 863 88.1 85.4-90.4
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 798 100 12.1 9.6-15.3 698 87.9 84.7-90.4
2nd Quartile 679 80 11.7 9.1-15.0 599 88.3 85.0-90.9
3rd Quartile 561 80 13.2 10.2-16.8 481 86.8 83.2-89.8
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 221 28 13.8 9.1-20.4 193 86.2 79.6-90.9

Back to Cognitive Decline.

*Asked only of Respondents aged 45 or older.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to changes in the weighting methodology and other factors, results from 2024 are NOT comparable to 2010
and earlier years.

***The estimate was suppressed because it did not meet statistical reliability standards. See BRFSS 2024 Annual Results Technical Notes for more details.

1Based on 2024 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. Please see the BRFSS 2024 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

2Based on U.S Census Bureau population estimates at the county level. Please see the BRFSS 2024 Annual Results Technical Notes for details.

3NC Dept. of Commerce County Tier Classification, based on respondent’s county of residence.
Please see the BRFSS 2024 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 2024 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 18SEP25.

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