NHANES Questionnaires, Datasets, and Related Documentation

Conducted in 2012, the NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) was a one-time survey to collect data on physical activity and fitness levels in order to provide an evaluation of the health and fitness of children and teens in the U.S. ages 3 to 15 years. The NNYFS collected data on physical activity and fitness levels through interviews and fitness tests.

Conducted in 1986, 1987, and 1992 , the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) was a national longitudinal study designed to investigate the relationships between clinical, nutritional, and behavioral factors assessed in the NHANES I and subsequent morbidity, mortality, and hospital utilization, as well as changes in risk factors, functional limitation, and institutionalization.

Conducted from 1988-1994, the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) focused on oversampling many groups within the U.S. population aged 2 months and over. These oversampled groups included children aged 2 months to 5 years, persons over age 60, Mexican-American persons, and non-Hispanic black persons. This survey also concentrated on health and nutrition but additionally began to collect environmental exposure and infectious disease data.

Conducted from 1976-1980, the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) focused on nutrition and health, but the age of participation started at 6 month. The maximum age remained 74 years.

Conducted from 1971-1974, the National Health Examination Survey added a nutrition component and was renamed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I). The first NHANES focused on the U.S. population aged 1-74. In 1974-1975, there was an augmentation to the survey on an additional national sample.  This augmentation sample only included adults aged 25-74 and did not oversample any population groups nor include nutrition data.

During 1982-1984, NHANES temporarily shifted to a population-specific survey. The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Survey (HHANES) focused on health and nutrition, but involved only the 3 largest Hispanic subgroups in the U.S. at the time aged 6 months to 74 years:  Mexican-American persons residing in the Southwest, Cuban-American persons residing in Dade County Florida, and Puerto Rican persons residing in the New York City metropolitan area.

Conducted from 1966-1970, the third National Health Examination Survey (NHES III) focused on the growth and development of U.S. adolescents aged 12-17. Approximately 1/3 of the examined adolescents in NHES III were previously examined in NHES II.

Conducted from 1963-1965, the second National Health Examination Survey (NHES II) focused on the growth and development in U.S. children aged 6-11.

Conducted from 1959-1962, the first National Health Examination Survey (NHES I) focused on chronic disease in the U.S. population aged 18-79.