Table 1 Characteristics of adult respondents in the National Health Interview Survey (1977–2009)
Characteristics | 1977 | 1983 | 1985 | 1990 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | 18,386 | 9,931 | 28,999 | 35,466 | 24,092 | 24,290 | 18,804 | 18,067 | 16,926 | 21,788 |
Demographics and health risks | ||||||||||
Gender, female (%) | 54.7 | 56.3 | 51.8 | 51.3 | 50.3 | 50.2 | 50.0 | 49.9 | 50.2 | 50.4 |
Age, years (mean (SD)) | 42(15) | 40(15) | 40(17) | 40(17) | 42(17) | 42(17) | 42(18) | 42(18) | 42(19) | 42(19) |
Race/ethnicity (%) | ||||||||||
Whites | 88.6 | 85.7 | 85.7 | 84.0 | 83.4 | 83.0 | 81.5 | 81.4 | 81.2 | 81.0 |
African Americans/Blacks | 9.9 | 10.4 | 10.9 | 11.4 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 12.4 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.6 |
Other | 1.5 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 6.4 |
Education, ≥ HS (%) | 71.3 | 76.7 | 79.3 | 81.9 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 87.7 | 88.3 | 88.4 | 88.7 |
Marital status (%) | ||||||||||
Married | 72.1 | 67.2 | 66.9 | 66.6 | 53.4 | 58.9 | 58.2 | 57.2 | 56.4 | 55.4 |
Widowed, divorced & separated | 13.9 | 13.8 | 12.6 | 13.5 | 21.8 | 15.9 | 16.0 | 16.1 | 16.2 | 16.6 |
Single | 14.0 | 19.0 | 20.5 | 19.9 | 24.8 | 25.2 | 25.8 | 26.7 | 27.4 | 28.0 |
Total family income, ≥$ 35 K (%) | -- | 22.2 | 29.8 | 45.5 | 64.1 | 65.4 | 64.9 | 68.8 | 70.4 | 70.0 |
Poverty status, below (%) | -- | 8.5 | 11.2 | 9.4 | 10.2 | 10.4 | 11.7 | 11.3 | 11.6 | 12.5 |
Ever smoked, yes (%) | 58.4 | 55.1 | 55.5 | 50.8 | 42.4 | 42.5 | 41.8 | 41.4 | 42.0 | 42.4 |
Alcohol consumption (%) | ||||||||||
Never drinkers | -- | -- | -- | 15.3 | 22.4 | 22.1 | 22.6 | 21.3 | 19.0 | 18.2 |
Former drinkers | -- | -- | -- | 8.9 | 13.0 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 13.1 | 12.5 | 13.3 |
Current drinkers | -- | -- | -- | 75.9 | 64.6 | 65.2 | 64.5 | 65.6 | 68.5 | 68.5 |
Normal (%) | 58.6 | 59.4 | 56.6 | 52.6 | 39.3 | 38.4 | 37.7 | 36.9 | 36.5 | 35.4 |
Overweight (%) | 31.2 | 29.1 | 31.6 | 33.4 | 36.9 | 37.1 | 36.2 | 36.8 | 36.0 | 36.9 |
Obesity (%) | 10.2 | 11.4 | 11.8 | 14.0 | 23.8 | 24.6 | 26.1 | 26.2 | 27.5 | 27.7 |
Physical activity (%) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 10.9 | 11.5 | 11.2 | 11.5 | 11.9 | 12.7 |
Emotional distress (%) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
Medical conditions | ||||||||||
Diabetes (%) | -- | 3.6 | -- | -- | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.2 |
Hypertension (%) | -- | 21.6 | 21.9 | 20.7 | 21.0 | 21.1 | 22.8 | 22.7 | 24.6 | 24.1 |
Cancer (%) | -- | 2.9 | -- | -- | 5.0 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.1 |
Coronary heart disease (%) | -- | 1.7 | -- | -- | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
Myocardial infarction (%) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.2 |
Stroke (%) | -- | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
Kidney disease (%) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Sleep measures | ||||||||||
Hours of sleep (mean (SD)) | 7.4(1.3) | 7.3(1.3) | 7.4(1.5) | 7.3(1.5) | 7.1(1.5) | 7.1(1.5) | 7.1(1.6) | 7.1(1.5) | 7.1(1.6) | 7.1(1.7) |
Sleep duration categories (%) | ||||||||||
Very short sleep | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
Short sleep | 19.7 | 21.0 | 20.8 | 23.0 | 26.8 | 26.9 | 27.1 | 25.4 | 26.6 | 26.7 |
Normal sleep | 66.8 | 67.5 | 67.1 | 66.6 | 63.7 | 63.6 | 63.5 | 65.6 | 63.5 | 63.0 |
Long sleep | 11.6 | 9.5 | 10.8 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 7.8 |