Table of Contents

Component 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 a mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest (EPA, 2020). 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 PUQ seeks to obtain meaningful data about potential exposure to chemicals in and around the household among NHANES participants.

Eligible Sample

All participants aged 6 years and older, in the NHANES August 2021 – August 2023 sample, were eligible.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The PUQ was asked in the mobile examination center (MEC) by phlebotomists or trained interviewers using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) system.

Participants 18 years of age and older were interviewed directly. A proxy provided information for participants 6-17 years of age.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

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. During the August 2021-August 2023 data collection cycle, PUQ data were systematically reviewed for logical, processing, and data input errors on a periodic basis; and interviewer-specific feedback and retraining was performed as appropriate.

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

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 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS

PUQ100 - Products used in home to control insects

Variable Name:
PUQ100
SAS Label:
Products used in home to control insects
English Text:
In the past 7 days, were any chemical products used in {your/his/her} home to control fleas, roaches, ants, termites, or other insects?
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: IF SP 6-17 YEARS, DISPLAY THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEWER INSTRUCTION: "THIS ITEM IS COLLECTED VIA PROXY FOR SPS 6-17. LOOK UP THE PROXY RESPONSE IN THE PUQ REPORT AND ENTER IT IN PUQ100"
Target:
Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 569 569
2 No 7434 8003
7 Refused 0 8003
9 Don't know 28 8031
. Missing 37 8068

PUQ110 - Products used to kill weeds?

Variable Name:
PUQ110
SAS Label:
Products used to kill weeds?
English Text:
In the past 7 days, were any chemical products used in {your/his/her} lawn or garden to kill weeds?
English Instructions:
CODE "NO" IF THE RESPONDENT SAYS S/HE DOES NOT HAVE A LAWN OR GARDEN. CAPI INSTRUCTION: IF SP 6-17 YEARS, DISPLAY THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEWER INSTRUCTION: "THIS ITEM IS COLLECTED VIA PROXY FOR SPS 6-17. LOOK UP THE PROXY RESPONSE IN THE PUQ REPORT AND ENTER IT IN PUQ110."
Target:
Both males and females 6 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 364 364
2 No 7589 7953
7 Refused 0 7953
9 Don't know 78 8031
. Missing 37 8068