Table of Contents

Component Description

The Housing Characteristics section (variable name prefixes HOQ or HOD) provides family level interview data on type of home, number of apartments in building, age of home, number of rooms in home, time lived in home, whether home is owned or rented, water source and treatment, and allergy component related questions about the presence of furry animals.

Eligible Sample

One study participant in each family responds for the entire family and these responses are released for all members of the same family.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

This questionnaire was done before the physical examination, in the home, using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing-CAPI (interviewer administered) system.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

The questionnaire data was systematically reviewed for logical, processing, and data input errors on a periodic basis during the process of data collection.

The CAPI system is programmed with built-in consistency checks to reduce data entry errors. CAPI also uses online help screens to assist interviewers in defining key terms used in the questionnaire. 

Data Processing and Editing

Multiple families in the same household may be selected as participants in the study. Sometimes, the data collected from different families living in the same household are discrepant. In most cases, these discrepancies are left as reported. For HOD040, When home was built, if one family did not know the age of the home, the value reported by another family in the same home was substituted for the “don’t know” response.

HOD030 How many apartments in building: Responses of 1 and 2 apartments per building were collapsed into one category due to low cell counts.

HOD050 Number of rooms in home: Any responses for this question equal or greater than 13 were grouped into one category and released as 13.

HOD060 How many years family lived in home: These data were collected as continuous values but were collapsed into categories for release.

HOQ080 Water treatment devices used or not: Details on which of the water treatment devices were used were collected but not released due to unique combinations of devices which could identify family members. The text of the hand card with the list of devices is included in the codebook section of this documentation.

Analytic Notes

Although these data were collected as part of the household questionnaire, if they are merged with the MEC exam data, exam sample weights should be used for the analyses.

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

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 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HOQ011 - Type of home

Variable Name:
HOQ011
SAS Label:
Type of home
English Text:
I'd like to ask you a few questions about your home. Is your home . . .
English Instructions:
VERIFY OR ASK IF NOT OBVIOUS. INCLUDE TOWNHOME AS 'HOUSE', EITHER DETACHED OR ATTACHED.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Mobile home or trailer 803 803 HOQ040
2 One family house detached from any other house 6377 7180 HOQ040
3 One family house attached to one or more houses 1101 8281 HOQ040
4 Apartment 1851 10132
6 Dormitory 107 10239 HOQ040
77 Refused 0 10239 HOQ040
99 Don't know 0 10239 HOQ040
. Missing 109 10348

HOD030 - How many apartments in building

Variable Name:
HOD030
SAS Label:
How many apartments in building
English Text:
How many apartments are in this building? Would you say . . .
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 1 or 2 172 172
3 3 or 4 324 496
4 5 to 9 476 972
5 10 to 19 439 1411
6 20 to 49 174 1585
7 50 or more 215 1800
77 Refused 0 1800
99 Don't know 51 1851
. Missing 8497 10348

HOQ040 - When was home built

Variable Name:
HOQ040
SAS Label:
When was home built
English Text:
When was this {mobile home/house/building} originally built?
English Instructions:
READ CATEGORIES IF NECESSARY.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 1990 to present 2188 2188
2 1978 to 1989 1474 3662
3 1960 to 1977 1442 5104
4 1950 to 1959 858 5962
5 1940 to 1949 516 6478
6 Before 1940 990 7468
77 Refused 11 7479
99 Don't know 2760 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOD050 - Number of rooms in home

Variable Name:
HOD050
SAS Label:
Number of rooms in home
English Text:
How many rooms are in this home? Count the kitchen but not the bathroom.
English Instructions:
ENTER NUMBER OF ROOMS
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 12 Range of Values 10150 10150
13 13 or more 69 10219
777 Refused 5 10224
999 Don't know 15 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOD060 - How many years family lived in home

Variable Name:
HOD060
SAS Label:
How many years family lived in home
English Text:
How many years {have you/has your family} lived at this address?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Less than one year 2104 2104
2 1-2 years 2163 4267
3 3-5 years 2062 6329
4 6-10 years 1557 7886
5 More than 10 years 2336 10222
77 Refused 5 10227
99 Don't know 12 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ065 - Home owned, bought, rented, other

Variable Name:
HOQ065
SAS Label:
Home owned, bought, rented, other
English Text:
Is this {mobile home/house/apartment} owned, being bought, rented, or occupied by some other arrangement by {you/you or someone else in your family}?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Owned or being bought 6279 6279
2 Rented 3737 10016
3 Other arrangement 216 10232
7 Refused 4 10236
9 Don't know 3 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ070 - Source of tap water

Variable Name:
HOQ070
SAS Label:
Source of tap water
English Text:
What is the source of tap water in this home? Is it a private or public water company, a private or public well, or something else?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Private/public water company 8738 8738
2 Private/public well 1342 10080
3 Something else 43 10123
7 Refused 0 10123
9 Don't know 116 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ080 - Water treatment devices used or not

Variable Name:
HOQ080
SAS Label:
Water treatment devices used or not
English Text:
Are any of the water treatment devices listed on this card used in your home?
English Instructions:
HAND CARD HOQ1
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 2529 2529
2 No 7630 10159
7 Refused 0 10159
9 Don't know 80 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ230 - Has home had a mildew or musty smell?

Variable Name:
HOQ230
SAS Label:
Has home had a mildew or musty smell?
English Text:
In the past 12 months, has your home had a mildew odor or musty smell?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 1725 1725
2 No 8490 10215
7 Refused 0 10215
9 Don't know 24 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ240 - Have you seen cockroaches in your home?

Variable Name:
HOQ240
SAS Label:
Have you seen cockroaches in your home?
English Text:
In the past 12 months, have you seen any cockroaches in your home?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 2182 2182
2 No 8054 10236
7 Refused 0 10236
9 Don't know 3 10239
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ250 - Do animals live or spend time in home?

Variable Name:
HOQ250
SAS Label:
Do animals live or spend time in home?
English Text:
Do any dogs, cats or other small furry animals, such as a rabbit, guinea pig or hamster, live or spend time in your home?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 3911 3911
2 No 6328 10239 HOQ270
7 Refused 0 10239 HOQ270
9 Don't know 0 10239 HOQ270
. Missing 109 10348

HOQ260A - Dog in house now

Variable Name:
HOQ260A
SAS Label:
Dog in house now
English Text:
Which kind of pet is it?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Dog 2880 2880
7 Refused 0 2880
9 Don't know 0 2880
. Missing 7468 10348

HOQ260B - Cat in house now

Variable Name:
HOQ260B
SAS Label:
Cat in house now
English Text:
Which kind of pet is it?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
2 Cat 1697 1697
. Missing 8651 10348

HOQ260C - Small furry animal in house now

Variable Name:
HOQ260C
SAS Label:
Small furry animal in house now
English Text:
Which kind of pet is it?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
3 Small furry animal 363 363
. Missing 9985 10348

HOQ270 - Did animals live or spend time in home?

Variable Name:
HOQ270
SAS Label:
Did animals live or spend time in home?
English Text:
In the last 12 months, did any dogs, cats or other small furry animals, such as a rabbit, guinea pig or hamster, live or spend time inside your home?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 517 517
2 No 5793 6310
7 Refused 0 6310
9 Don't know 18 6328
. Missing 4020 10348

HOQ280A - Dog in house, last 12 months

Variable Name:
HOQ280A
SAS Label:
Dog in house, last 12 months
English Text:
What kind of pet was it?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Dog 381 381
7 Refused 0 381
9 Don't know 2 383
. Missing 9965 10348

HOQ280B - Cat in house, last 12 months

Variable Name:
HOQ280B
SAS Label:
Cat in house, last 12 months
English Text:
What kind of pet was it?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
2 Cat 130 130
. Missing 10218 10348

HOQ280C - Small furry animal in house, last 12 mon

Variable Name:
HOQ280C
SAS Label:
Small furry animal in house, last 12 mon
English Text:
What kind of pet was it?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
3 Small furry animal 55 55
. Missing 10293 10348