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, and wheezing. Data are also collected on trigger factors for these symptoms and on related functional impairments.

Topics

  • History Cough and Phlegm Production (RDD030, RDQ040-RDQ060)

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 (RDD134)
  • 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 6–69 years. As in NHANES 1999–2000, the question series RDQ120, RDD134, RDQ135, and RDQ 137 was 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).

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

Household interview

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to the procedures manual at
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/continuousnhanes/default.aspx?BeginYear=2001.

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 practices and issues in the epidemiologic investigation of respiratory disease (1–4).

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 as 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 past occupations, as well as identification of a Survey Participant's 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, as well as a specific question on the number of beta-agonist inhalers taken in the previous month (RXQ280).

Changes from the NHANES 1999–2000 RDQ Section:

Data analysts should note that there are several differences between the RDQ Questionnaire Section in NHANES 1999–2000 vs. the NHANES 2001–2002 RDQ Section:

Data on cough symptoms for children and adolescents (RDQ010, RDQ020G/Q) was not collected in 2001–2002.

The question series for cough and phlegm production (RDQ030-RDQ060) was administered to all Survey Participants in 1999-2000, but only to Participants ages 12+ in 2001–2002. Otherwise, for analytical purposes, RDD030 in NHANES 2001–2002 is equivalent to RDQ030 in NHANES 1999–2000.

NHANES 1999–2000 collected data on both non-prescription and prescription medication use for treatment of wheezing (RDQ130, RDQ133). Only data for prescription medication use for wheezing was collected in NHANES 2001-2002 (RDD134).

Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/nhanes_general_guidelines_june_04.pdf.

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

RDD030 - Coughing most days - over 3 mo period

Variable Name:
RDD030
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 527 527
2 No 7365 7892 RDQ050
7 Refused 2 7894 RDQ050
9 Don't know 3 7897 RDQ050
. Missing 2573 10470

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
Hard Edits:
0 to 120
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 66 Range of Values 506 506
70 70 to 150 6 512
77777 Refused 0 512
99999 Don't know 15 527
. Missing 9943 10470

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 523 523
2 No 7368 7891 RDQ070
7 Refused 2 7893 RDQ070
9 Don't know 3 7896 RDQ070
. Missing 2574 10470

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
Hard Edits:
0 to 120
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 66 Range of Values 502 502
70 70 to 150 6 508
77777 Refused 0 508
99999 Don't know 15 523
. Missing 9947 10470

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 1365 1365
2 No 9094 10459 RDQ140
7 Refused 2 10461 RDQ140
9 Don't know 6 10467 RDQ140
. Missing 3 10470

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 1330 1330
7777 Refused 0 1330
9999 Don't know 35 1365
. Missing 9105 10470

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, 665 665
1 1 or more nights per week, or 304 969
2 Less than 1 night per week? 389 1358
7 Refused 0 1358
9 Don't know 7 1365
. Missing 9105 10470

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 603 603
2 No 747 1350
7 Refused 0 1350
9 Don't know 15 1365
. Missing 9105 10470

RDQ105 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
RDQ105
English Instructions:
BOX 3. CHECK ITEM RDQ.105: IF 'NEVER' (CODE 0) IN RDQ.090, AND IF NO (CODE 2), REFUSED (CODE 7), OR DON'T KNOW (CODE 9) IN RDQ.100, GO TO RDQ.140. OTHERWISE, CONTINUE.
Target:
Both males and females 1 YEARS - 150 YEARS

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
Hard Edits:
0 to 50
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
0 to 18 Range of Values 934 934
20 20 to 150 6 940
7777 Refused 0 940
9999 Don't know 0 940
. Missing 9530 10470

RDD134 - Doctor prescribe wheezing medication

Variable Name:
RDD134
SAS Label:
Doctor prescribe wheezing medication
English Text:
(In the past 12 months), (have you/has SP) taken medication, perscribed 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 625 625
2 No 315 940
7 Refused 0 940
9 Don't know 1 941
. Missing 9529 10470

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, 473 473
2 A little, 252 725
3 A fair amount, 96 821
4 A moderate amount, or 50 871
5 A lot? 69 940
7 Refused 0 940
9 Don't know 1 941
. Missing 9529 10470

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 476 476
1 1 to 7 159 635
2 8 to 30 36 671
3 31 plus 11 682
7 Refused 1 683
9 Don't know 1 684
. Missing 9786 10470

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 400 400
2 No 10059 10459
7 Refused 2 10461
9 Don't know 6 10467
. Missing 3 10470