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%)
North Carolina 2,259 288 12.4 10.9-14.2 1,971 87.6 85.8-89.1
-FEMALES 1,323 164 12.1 10.1-14.5 1,159 87.9 85.5-89.9
RACE
Non-Hispanic White 926 115 12.4 10.0-15.3 811 87.6 84.7-90.0
Non-Hispanic Black 239 31 10.8 7.2-16.0 208 89.2 84.0-92.8
Other 147 18 13.7 7.8-23.2 129 86.3 76.8-92.2
AGE
45-54 331 35 9.8 6.6-14.3 296 90.2 85.7-93.4
55-64 334 50 15.1 11.1-20.3 284 84.9 79.7-88.9
65-74 332 29 9.1 5.8-13.9 303 90.9 86.1-94.2
75+ 293 49 16.3 11.3-23.0 244 83.7 77.0-88.7
EDUCATION
Less Than H.S. 108 16 18.7 10.6-30.9 92 81.3 69.1-89.4
H.S. or G.E.D. 255 23 8.9 5.6-14.0 232 91.1 86.0-94.4
Some Post-H.S. 391 52 12.4 9.0-16.8 339 87.6 83.2-91.0
College Graduate 565 73 12.2 9.4-15.7 492 87.8 84.3-90.6
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Less than $15,000 43 *** *** *** *** *** ***
$15,000- 24,999 100 21 20.1 12.4-31.0 79 79.9 69.0-87.6
$25,000- 34,999 111 11 13.2 6.1-26.2 100 86.8 73.8-93.9
$35,000- 49,999 159 23 12.1 7.1-19.7 136 87.9 80.3-92.9
$50,000- 74,999 151 22 14.0 8.7-21.7 129 86.0 78.3-91.3
$75,000+ 382 48 11.8 8.5-16.2 334 88.2 83.8-91.5
FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY
Yes 480 121 25.5 20.8-31.0 359 74.5 69.0-79.2
No 824 37 3.8 2.6- 5.5 787 96.2 94.5-97.4
VETERAN STATUS
Veteran 42 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Non-Veteran 1,280 155 11.8 9.7-14.2 1,125 88.2 85.8-90.3
RURAL-URBAN RESIDENT1
Urban 357 37 10.6 7.3-15.1 320 89.4 84.9-92.7
Regional City or Suburban County 382 58 12.7 9.3-17.0 324 87.3 83.0-90.7
Rural 584 69 12.8 9.6-16.9 515 87.2 83.1-90.4
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed or Self-Employed 484 46 9.6 6.7-13.4 438 90.4 86.6-93.3
Unemployed 39 *** *** *** *** *** ***
Retired 608 79 12.4 9.5-16.1 529 87.6 83.9-90.5
Unable to Work 108 31 28.7 19.6-39.9 77 71.3 60.1-80.4
Other not in Labor Force 70 *** *** *** 66 93.1 80.0-97.9
POVERTY LEVEL2
Less than 50% 22 *** *** *** *** *** ***
50% to 100% 63 *** *** *** 54 86.7 75.1-93.4
101% to 150% 147 24 17.5 10.7-27.2 123 82.5 72.8-89.3
151% to 200% 69 *** *** *** 64 96.7 91.1-98.8
More than 200% 640 87 13.1 10.3-16.6 553 86.9 83.4-89.7
NC DEPT OF COMMERCE COUNTY TIER3
Most Distressed Counties (Tier 1) 292 43 14.1 10.0-19.5 249 85.9 80.5-90.0
Less Distressed Counties (Tier 2) 469 54 12.2 8.7-16.7 415 87.8 83.3-91.3
Least Distressed Counties (Tier 3) 562 67 11.1 8.3-14.6 495 88.9 85.4-91.7
CDC SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEX4
1st Quartile - Least Vulnerable 457 55 10.0 7.3-13.4 402 90.0 86.6-92.7
2nd Quartile 394 49 13.0 9.2-18.0 345 87.0 82.0-90.8
3rd Quartile 336 43 12.8 8.9-18.0 293 87.2 82.0-91.1
4th Quartile - Most Vulnerable 136 17 14.4 8.4-23.6 119 85.6 76.4-91.6

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

2Based on 2024 U.S Census Bureau poverty threshold incomes. 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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