Skip to main content

Table 3 Chronic health conditions and information available from health interview a and examination b in DEGS1

From: German health interview and examination survey for adults (DEGS) - design, objectives and implementation of the first data collection wave

Health condition

Information

Allergic disease

Allergic contact eczema; allergic rhinitis; food allergy; atopic eczema; insect venom allergy; urticarial; other

Medical history and family history; current treatment; lifetime history of allergy testing and specific immunotherapy

Inhalation allergy screening tests, total serum IgE, allergen-specific IgE antibody tests against 52 specific allergens (food, pollen, contact, insect, inner room allergens)

Cardiovascular disease

Angina pectoris or other coronary heart disease

Medical history, current treatment; angina episodes and related hospitalizations, emergency room treatments, doctor visits during past 12 months; lifetime history of specific tests and surgical procedures

Myocardial infarction (MI)

Medical history and family history; current treatment; number of events; time of first and last MI; lifetime history of specific tests and surgical procedures

Heart failure

Medical history; current treatment; acute exacerbations and related hospitalizations, emergency room treatments, doctor visits within past 12 months

Peripheral artery disease

Medical history; current treatment

Stroke

Medical history and family history; current treatment; number of events, time of first and last event

Cardiometabolic conditions

Diabetes mellitus

Medical history including type of diabetes and family history; diagnosis during pregnancy; current treatment; treatment following diagnosis; presence of long-term diabetes complications; history of acute hyper- or hypoglycemia and related hospitalizations, emergency room treatments, doctor visits within past 12 months; self-monitoring of blood glucose; time of last follow-up care (foot inspection, HbA1c assessment, eye background exam)

HbA1c; serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glycosuria, ketonuria, microalbuminuria

Hypertension

Medical history and family history; current treatment; self-monitoring; last time of blood pressure measurement by health professional; last self-measurement; history of hypertensive emergency and related hospitalizations, emergency room treatments, doctor visits during past 12 months

Blood pressure measurements

Dyslipidemia

Medical history; current treatment; serum total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL- cholesterol, triglycerides

Gout and hyperuricemia

Medical history; current treatment; serum uric acid

Gastrointestinal disease

Gastric or duodenal ulcer; chronic inflammatory bowel disease

Medical history; current treatment

Liver, gallbladder, pancreatic disease

Medical history of hepatitis including type of hepatitis (A, B, C, E) and liver cirrhosis; current treatment

Hepatitis immunoassay and PCR-based confirmatory test results for hepatitis B and C

Serum transaminases (ALT, AST), cholestatic liver enzymes (AP, GGT), lipase; bilirubinuria, urobilinogenuria

Malignant disease

Any type of cancer

Medical history including type of malignancy; current treatment and cancer follow-up

Mental health disorders c

Anxiety disorder; depression; burnout; eating disorder

Medical history, current treatment

Musculoskeletal disease

Osteoarthritis

Medical history and history of joint replacement; current treatment, specialist care; joint pain; lower back pain

Rheumatoid arthritis

Medical history; current treatment, specialist care; joint pain

cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody testd

Osteoporosis

Medical history; type of current treatment and specialist care; lower back pain, history of fractures and falls; fear of falls; lifetime history of bone densitometry

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D, calcium, phosphate, intact parathyroid hormone

Neurologic disease

Epilepsy; Migraine;

Medical history; current treatment

Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s disease

Kidney and urogenital tract disease

Renal insufficiency

Medical history of renal insufficiency; current treatment

Serum creatinine and cystatin C; microalbuminuria, proteinuria

Benign prostate disease

Lifetime history including time of diagnosis and history of prostate surgery

Gynecological conditions

Lifetime history of hysterectomy and oophorectomy; benign conditions

Lower respiratory tract disease

Asthma; chronic bronchitis

Medical history including type of asthma; current treatment; lifetime history of asthma-related allergy testing and specific immunotherapy; asthma related hospitalizations, emergency room treatments, doctor visits within past 12 months

Thyroid disease

Hyper-, hypothyroidism; other thyroid disease

Medical history including type of thyroid disorder, thyroid surgery, radioiodine treatment; current treatment

Thyroid volume; serum thyroid hormones and TSH, thyroid antibodies (TPO, TGA)

  1. aInformation from computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) except for history of benign prostate disease, gynecological conditions, history of falls and fractures, and fear of falls (self-administered questionnaires).
  2. bInformation from standardized measurements and laboratory tests.
  3. cInformation collected in DEGS1 by CAPI, not related to additional information collected in the DEGS1 mental health study module (DEGS1-MH).
  4. dCCP antibody testing was limited to the first year of data collection.
  5. Abbreviations: ALT alanine aminotransferase, AP alkaline phospatase, AST aspartate aminotransferase, GGT gamma-glutamyl transferase, TGA thyreoglobulin antibody, TPO thyroid peroxidase antibody, TSH thyroid stimulating hormone.
Back to article page

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

Contact us