Table of Contents

Component Description

The Respiratory Disease Section (prefix RDQ) provides interview data
on respiratory symptoms that may be related to bronchitis or asthma. The symptoms profiled include cough, phlegm production, wheezing. Data is also collected on trigger factors for these symptoms, and on related functional impairments.

Topics:

  • History Cough and Phlegm Production (RDQ031---RDD060)

12 Month Period Prevalence of:

  • Wheezing (RDQ070); Frequency of Wheezing Episodes (RDQ080)
  • Sleep Disturbance Due to Wheezing (RDQ090)
  • Wheezing With Exercise (RDQ100)
  • Number of Doctor, Hospital or Emergency Room Visits for Wheezing (RDQ120)
  • Prescription Medication use for Wheezing (RDQ134)
  • Limitation of Usual Activities Due to Wheezing (RDQ135)
  • Number of Days of Work/School Missed Due to Wheezing (RDQ137)
  • Dry Nocturnal Cough (RDQ140)

Eligible Sample

Questions regarding a history of cough and phlegm production were administered to Survey Participants ages 12 years and above, except for RDQ140 (History of Dry Nocturnal Cough) which was administered to Survey Participants of all ages.

Questions regarding a history of wheezing were administered to Survey Participants of all ages except for RDQ137 which was administered to Survey Participants ages 6 to 69 years. In NHANES 1999-2002, the question series RDQ120 through RDQ 137 were administered only to Survey Participants with a history of more severe asthma (a history of recent sleep disturbance due to wheezing plus a history of recent exercise associated wheezing). However, in NHANES 2003-2004 the question series RDQ120 through RDQ137 was administered to all participants with a history of wheezing.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

Household Interview.

The Interviewer Procedure Manual and the text document for the NHANES 2003-2004 RDQ survey questionnaire are available on the NHANES website.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to the Interviewer Procedure Manual.

Data Processing and Editing

Data editing (for example “top coding” of continuous variables) is documented in the RDQ Section Codebook.

Analytic Notes

These data were collected as part of the NHANES Household Questionnaire Interview and interview weights should be used if only questionnaire data is analyzed. If RDQ data is merged with the MEC examination data, however, then MEC examination sample weights should be used for the analyses.
Current NHANES questionnaire data collection relating to respiratory symptoms is based on prior NHANES surveys as well as validated survey instruments. It is recommended that data analysts be familiar with current practice and issues in the epidemiologic investigation of respiratory disease.1,2,3,4

Related NHANES 2001-2002 Questionnaire Datasets:

  • Medical Conditions (MCQ) contains questionnaire data on a history of a previous medical diagnosis of respiratory disease (asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema), age at onset of disease, and family history of asthma.
  • Physical Functioning (PFQ) contains data on functional physical limitations as well information on the type of health problems (including respiratory disease) causing the difficulty.
  • Cardiovascular Disease (CDQ) contains data for dyspnea (shortness of breath) on exertion for adults ages 40+.
  • Smoking (SMQ) contains data on past history of smoking.
  • Occupation (OCQ) includes data on current and longest occupation, as well as identification of a Survey Participants exposure to second-hand smoke in their current job (OCQ290G/Q). Also, for Survey Participants whose asthma began as an adult, the type of employment is recorded (OCQ470-480).
  • Prescription Medications (RXQ) contains data on all prescription medications currently taken.

Please refer to the NHANES Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues.

References

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number.
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS

RDQ005A - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
RDQ005A
English Instructions:
BOX 1. CHECK ITEM RDQ.005A: IF SP AGE <12, GO TO RDQ.070. OTHERWISE, CONTINUE.
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS

RDQ031 - Coughing most days - over 3 mo period

Variable Name:
RDQ031
SAS Label:
Coughing most days - over 3 mo period
English Text:
{Do you/Does SP} usually cough on most days for 3 consecutive months or more during the year?
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 521 521
2 No 6819 7340 RDQ050
7 Refused 0 7340 RDQ050
9 Don't know 4 7344 RDQ050
. Missing 2301 9645

RDD040 - # years had cough problem

Variable Name:
RDD040
SAS Label:
# years had cough problem
English Text:
For how many years {have you/has SP} had this cough?
English Instructions:
ENTER NUMBER OF YEARS. IF LESS THAN 1 YEAR, ENTER 1; IF 70 OR MORE YEARS ENTER 70
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 69 Range of Values 508 508
70 70 or more 7 515
77777 Refused 0 515
99999 Don't know 6 521
. Missing 9124 9645

RDQ050 - Bring up phlegm most days - 3 mo period

Variable Name:
RDQ050
SAS Label:
Bring up phlegm most days - 3 mo period
English Text:
{Do you/Does SP} bring up phlegm on most days for 3 consecutive months or more during the year?
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 562 562
2 No 6779 7341 RDQ070
7 Refused 0 7341 RDQ070
9 Don't know 3 7344 RDQ070
. Missing 2301 9645

RDD060 - # years bringing up phlegm problem

Variable Name:
RDD060
SAS Label:
# years bringing up phlegm problem
English Text:
For how many years, {have you/has SP} had trouble with phlegm?
English Instructions:
ENTER NUMBER OF YEARS. IF LESS THAN 1 YEAR, ENTER 1; IF 70 OR MORE YEARS ENTER 70
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 60 Range of Values 554 554
70 70 or more 3 557
77777 Refused 0 557
99999 Don't know 5 562
. Missing 9083 9645

RDQ070 - Wheezing or whistling in chest - past yr

Variable Name:
RDQ070
SAS Label:
Wheezing or whistling in chest - past yr
English Text:
In the past 12 months {have you/has SP} had wheezing or whistling in {your/his/her} chest?
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 1332 1332
2 No 8310 9642 RDQ140
7 Refused 0 9642 RDQ140
9 Don't know 3 9645 RDQ140
. Missing 0 9645

RDQ080 - # wheezing/whistling attacks past year

Variable Name:
RDQ080
SAS Label:
# wheezing/whistling attacks past year
English Text:
[In the past 12 months], how many attacks of wheezing or whistling {have you/has SP} had?
English Instructions:
IF 12 OR MORE EPISODES, ENTER 12; ENTER NUMBER OF EPISODES.
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Hard Edits:
1 to 12
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 12 Range of Values 1310 1310
7777 Refused 0 1310
9999 Don't know 22 1332
. Missing 8313 9645

RDQ090 - Wheezing disturb sleep in past year

Variable Name:
RDQ090
SAS Label:
Wheezing disturb sleep in past year
English Text:
[In the past 12 months], how often, on average, has {your/SP's} sleep been disturbed because of wheezing? Would you say this happens . . .
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 Never, 611 611
1 1 or more nights per week, or 336 947
2 Less than 1 night per week? 382 1329
7 Refused 0 1329
9 Don't know 3 1332
. Missing 8313 9645

RDQ100 - Chest sound wheezy during exercise

Variable Name:
RDQ100
SAS Label:
Chest sound wheezy during exercise
English Text:
[In the past 12 months], has {your/SP's} chest sounded wheezy during or after exercise or physical activity?
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 619 619
2 No 705 1324
7 Refused 0 1324
9 Don't know 8 1332
. Missing 8313 9645

RDD120 - Got medical attentn for wheezing attack

Variable Name:
RDD120
SAS Label:
Got medical attentn for wheezing attack
English Text:
[In the past 12 months], how many times {have you/has SP} gone to the doctor's office or the hospital emergency room for one or more of these attacks of wheezing or whistling?
English Instructions:
ENTER NUMBER. IF NEVER, ENTER 0;IF 20 OR MORE MONTHS ENTER 20.
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 to 15 Range of Values 1329 1329
20 20 or more 2 1331
7777 Refused 0 1331
9999 Don't know 0 1331
. Missing 8314 9645

RDQ134 - Doctor prescribe wheezing medication

Variable Name:
RDQ134
SAS Label:
Doctor prescribe wheezing medication
English Text:
(In the past 12 months), (have you/has SP) taken medication, prescribe by a doctor, for wheezing or whistling?
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 782 782
2 No 547 1329
7 Refused 0 1329
9 Don't know 3 1332
. Missing 8313 9645

RDQ135 - Limit usual activities due to wheezing

Variable Name:
RDQ135
SAS Label:
Limit usual activities due to wheezing
English Text:
During the past 12 months, how much did {you/SP} limit {your/his/her} usual activities due to wheezing or whistling? Would you say…
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Not at all, 782 782
2 A little, 309 1091
3 A fair amount, 108 1199
4 A moderate amount, or 43 1242
5 A lot? 90 1332
7 Refused 0 1332
9 Don't know 0 1332
. Missing 8313 9645

RDQ136 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
RDQ136
English Instructions:
BOX 4. CHECK ITEM RDQ.136: IF SP AGE=6-69 YEARS CONTINUE. OTHERWISE, GO TO RDQ.140.
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS

RDQ137 - Miss work or school due to wheezing

Variable Name:
RDQ137
SAS Label:
Miss work or school due to wheezing
English Text:
During the past 12 months, how many days of work or school did {you/SP} miss due to wheezing or whistling?
Target:
Both males and females 6 YEARS - 69 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 None 719 719
1 1 to 7 171 890
2 8 to 30 43 933
3 31 plus 15 948
7 Refused 0 948
9 Don't know 2 950
. Missing 8695 9645

RDQ140 - Had dry cough at night in past year

Variable Name:
RDQ140
SAS Label:
Had dry cough at night in past year
English Text:
[In the past 12 months], {have you/has SP} had a dry cough at night not counting a cough associated with a cold or chest infection lasting 14 days or more?
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 369 369
2 No 9271 9640
7 Refused 0 9640
9 Don't know 5 9645
. Missing 0 9645