• Component Description
• Eligible Sample
• Data Processing and Editing
• Analytic Notes
• References
• Codebook
  • SEQN - Respondent sequence number
  • OCQ130 - Average hours/week of paid/unpaid work
  • OCQ140 - Check Item
  • OCQ150 - Type of work done last week
  • OCQ160 - Worked at all last week?
  • OCQ170 - Check Item
  • OCQ180 - Hours worked last week at all jobs
  • OCQ190 - Check Item
  • OCQ200 - Check Item
  • OCQ210 - Usually work 35 or more hours per week
  • OCD230 - Industry group code: current job
  • OCD240 - Occupation group code: current job
  • OCQ260 - Description of job/work situation
  • OCD270 - Number of months working in the main job
  • OCQ280 - Health insurance offered at main job
  • OCQ290G - Smell tobacco smoke at work
  • OCQ290Q - # Hrs/day smell tobacco smoke at work
  • OCQ300 - Ever wear protective equipment at work
  • OCQ310a - Ever wear respirator at work
  • OCQ310b - Hearing protection used, current job?
  • OCQ310c - Ever wear protective gloves at work
  • OCQ320 - Check Item
  • OCQ330a - Protective gloves of latex rubber
  • OCQ330b - Protective gloves of leather
  • OCQ330c - Protective gloves of vinyl
  • OCQ330d - Protective gloves of cloth
  • OCQ330e - Protective gloves of something else
  • OCQ340 - Loud job noise, ever exposed, 3 months?
  • OCQ350 - Currently exposed to loud noise at work
  • OCQ360 - Avg # hours loud noise exposure now
  • OCQ370 - Check Item
  • OCQ380 - Main reason did not work last week
  • OCQ390G - Kind of work you have done the longest
  • OCD390 - Occupation group code: longest job
  • OCD395 - Duration of longest job (months)
  • OCQ400 - Check Item
  • OCQ410 - Check Item
  • OCQ420 - Loud job noise, ever exposed, 3 months?
  • OCQ430 - Loud job noise: 3 months on longest job?
  • OCQ440 - # hours/day constant loud noise on job
  • OCQ450 - Wear ear protection during work
  • OCQ460 - Check Item
  • OCQ470G - Kind of job held when had asthma
  • OCD470 - Occupation group code: job asthma began
  • OCD480 - Industry group code: job asthma began
• Appendix A
• Appendix B

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

1999-2000 Data Documentation, Codebook, and Frequencies

Occupation (OCQ)

Data File: OCQ.xpt

First Published: January 2008

Last Revised: NA

Component Description

The Occupation Questionnaire Section (prefix OCQ; questions OCQ130 to
OCD480) contains personal interview data on employment and variables
relating to the work environment.

Eligible Sample

The OCQ Questionnaire was administered to Sample Persons 12+ years of age. Sample Persons aged 12-15 years were only asked a single question (OCQ130) that collected data on the average hours worked per week. For minors, questions were answered via a proxy respondent, generally a parent or guardian. Survey respondents 16 years of age and older were asked the full series of Occupation-related questions (OCQ150-OCQ450). If in addition survey respondents were ages 16-59 and had a history of medical provider diagnosis of asthma (MCQ010=1) then they were eligible for the "Asthma Job" series of questions (OCQ470G-OCD480). Note that military occupations are not permissible entries for NHANES current job data because the survey samples solely the civilian, non-institutionalized U.S. population. Military occupation codes are, however, valid entries for both the longest or "asthma job" data.

Data Processing and Editing

A subject’s questionnaire interview responses were entered into a pentop computer and then uploaded into a computerized database in the same manner as other sections of the Sample Person Questionnaire. The data was then edited for completeness, consistency, and illogical values. Industry and occupation text data were then coded by trained nosologists using NCHS standards (DVS-NCHS, 1997 a, b). For public release, recoded variables for industry and occupation groups were constructed, closely following the pattern established for reporting industry and occupation groups in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES III). These Occupation and Industry Groups and their 3-digit source codes are listed in Appendix B.

Analytic Notes

In general, analysts are advised to carefully review question wording in the OCQ codebook to make sure they understand the definitions employed for Occupation-related variables. Many OCQ questions need to be considered as an integral part of data collection for other Questionnaire sections (AUQ, HIQ, SMQ) and Exam or Laboratory Components (AU, Lab 7-Latex). Appendix A lists a SAS™ program to provide value labels for the Industry and Occupation groups designated for the Sample Person’s Current, Longest, and "Asthma" jobs.

Current Job Information:

The primary focus of the OCQ Questionnaire is data collection for the Sample Person’s work within the previous week, i.e. the respondent’s Current Job. The Sample Person’s Current Job is defined as the main paid job worked within the last week, including work on a family farm. When an individual currently worked multiple jobs, the Sample Person was asked to designate a main job for the interview.

Data collected included:

• The Number of Hours Worked Last Week- All Jobs
• Whether the Sample Person Usually Works 35 or More Hours/Week
• The Current Job Industry and Occupation Group Codes (OCD230, OCD240)
• Sector Of Employment (Private, Public) for Current, Main Job
• Number Of Months Working On Current, Main Job
• (If not working) The Main Reason the Respondent Did Not Work Last Week

Longest Job Information:

By design, the survey collected data on both industry and occupation for a subject’s Current and "Asthma" job, but only data on occupation was collected for the subject’s Longest job. Therefore industry information is not available for the Sample Person’s designated Longest Job. Some industry information is available in instances where the Longest Job is the same as the Current Job, or was the armed forces (OCD390G=2 or 3). Also, in some instances industry for the Longest job can be inferred from the Sample Person’s longest occupation. Previous survey research has shown a moderate correlation exists between a respondent’s Current and Longest reported jobs (Burnettand Crouse, 1989). The variable OCD390 contains the Occupation Group Code Data for the Longest Job and OCD395 contains data on the duration of the Longest Job in months.

"Asthma" Job Information:

For respondents reporting a diagnosis of asthma (MCQ010=1), the industry and occupation designation for the specific job held when the asthma began were captured. This employment history may be, but is not necessarily related to the onset of a Sample Person’s asthma. OCQ470G, the "gate" question for this series, records whether this "Asthma" Job was the same as the respondent’s Current or Longest job, or if the respondent was not working at that time. If the respondent was working, but not with either the Current or Longest designated job, the variables OCD470 and OCD480 record the pertinent Industry and Occupation Group Code information.

Data on Workplace Tobacco Smoke Exposure:

Data for exposure to workplace tobacco smoke is collected only for the Sample Person’s Current Job. Exposure to tobacco smoke is defined as whether the respondent can smell tobacco smoke at work. OCQ290G records (categorically) whether the sample person was exposed to tobacco smoke at work . If there is a history of workplace tobacco smoke exposure OCQ290Q records the number of hours/day the sample person was exposed. Note that a value of "0" in OCQ290Q signifies that workplace exposure to tobacco smoke occurred, but was less than one hour per day. Workplace tobacco smoke exposure data is logically related to SMQ Questionnaire data.

Data on the Use of Personal Protective Equipment at Work:

This is the question series OCQ300 to OCQ330e, which asked about data only for the Participant’s Current Job. Data is collected on whether the Sample Person has ever used protective equipment at work, including the use of respirators, hearing protection, or protective glove use. The data on latex protective glove use is designed to be analyzed with Lab 7 Latex-specific IGE antibody data.

Workplace Noise Exposure History:

For the NHANES Survey, workplace noise exposure is defined as on-the-job
noise so loud that the Sample Person has to speak in a raised voice to be heard. Data analysts should be aware that the Sample Person’s history of hearing disorders as well as the Sample Person’s exposure history for non-occupational loud noise (i.e. from firearms, power tools or loud music), as well as the non-occupational use of hearing protection is located in the AUQ questionnaire segment.

Lifetime Work Noise Exposures:

Data on lifetime exposure to loud job noise for greater than 3 months is collected
in OCQ340 and OCQ420, which must be combined for any overall analysis
(OCQ340 collects this data for the currently employed; OCQ420 collects the
data for Sample Persons not currently employed).

Workplace Noise in Current Job:

For the Sample Person’s Current Job, OCQ350 collects data on the presence or absence of job noise exposure, and OCQ360 collects the average number of hours/week. The use of hearing protection devices on the Sample Person’s Current Job is collected in OCQ310B.

Noise Exposure in the Sample Person’s Longest Job:

For the Sample Person’s Longest Job, exposure to loud job noise for greater than 3 months is collected in the series OCQ430, OCQ440 and OCQ450 (presence/absence of exposure; hours/day exposed; and whether protective hearing devices were worn, respectively). The duration of the Sample Person’s Longest Job is recorded in OCD395.

Other Notes:

No detailed job history information for adolescents aged 12-15 years was
collected in NHANES; only the average work hours/week was collected
(OCQ130).

OCQ280 asks Sample Persons whether Health Insurance is offered at the individual’s Current Job. This question was placed in the OCQ Questionnaire to facilitate the interviewing process, and is analytically a part of the Health Insurance Questionnaire (HIQ) segment.

A detailed review and discussion of previous Occupational data for previous NHANES surveys, as well as other National Center for Health Statistics Surveys is available (Wagener, 1993).

NCHS Research Data Center

Analyses requiring additional detail of occupation or industry coding than those publicly released are restricted because of the confidentiality of NHANES data. Proposals for such analyses must be submitted to the NHCS Research Data Center (RDC) for review and approval.

References

• Burnett CA, Crouse WE. Agreement of latest and longest occupation and industry as reported in the 1980 National Health Interview Survey. J Occup Med. 1989 Apr;31(4):339-46.
• Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics. Instruction Manual Part 19: Industry and Occupation Coding for Death Certificates. U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Maryland, 1997.
• Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics. Instruction Manual Part 19b: Alphabetical Index of Industries and Occupations, 1998. U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Maryland, 1997.
• Wagener DK. Occupation and Health Data Guide: Bibliographies and Data Sources From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics. No. 2. May 1993. 36 pp. (PHS) 93-1308.

Codebook and Frequencies