• Component Description
• Eligible Sample
• Interview Setting and Mode of Administration
• Quality Assurance & Quality Control
• Data Processing and Editing
• Analytic Notes
• References
• Codebook
  • SEQN - Respondent sequence number
  • PUQ100 - Products used in home to control insects
  • PUQ110 - Products used to kill weeds?

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

2013-2014 Data Documentation, Codebook, and Frequencies

Pesticide Use (PUQMEC_H)

Data File: PUQMEC_H.xpt

First Published: October 2015

Last Revised: NA

Note: Documentation updated to revise the proxy rule description.

Component Description

The pesticide use questionnaire (variable name prefix PUQ) provides data on pesticide use during the past seven days in the home, and on the lawn or in the garden.

Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest (EPA, 2014). Many common household products that are used inside and outside of the home are considered pesticides, thus increasing the risk of exposure to these substances. The pesticide use questionnaire seeks to obtain meaningful data about potential exposure to chemicals in and around the household among NHANES survey participants.

Eligible Sample

All participants aged 6 years and older were eligible.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

Pesticide use questions were asked on the mobile examination center (MEC) by trained interviewers using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) system. Persons 18 years of age and older were interviewed directly. A proxy provided information for survey participants 6 - 17 years of age.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

Pesticide use questionnaire (PUQ) data were systematically reviewed for consistency, data processing, and data input errors on a periodic basis during the 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 were reviewed by NCHS data analysts for accuracy and completeness.

Data Processing and Editing

Data were edited for completeness and consistency.

Analytic Notes

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

References

• "About Pesticides." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 5 Aug. 2014. https://www.epa.gov/pesticides

Codebook and Frequencies