Comparison of Questions Used in Study of Population Estimates Generated by 3 National Health Surveys: BRFSS, NHIS, and NHANES

Domain	BRFSS	Comparison Questiona
Ever smoked	Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life?	—
Current smoker	—	NHIS: Do you now smoke cigarettes every day, some days, or not at all? NHANES: Do you now smoke cigarettes every day or some days?
Diabetes	Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?	NHIS: Other than during pregnancy, have you EVER been told by a doctor or health care professional that you have diabetes or sugar diabetes? NHANES: Other than during pregnancy, have you ever been told by a doctor or health care professional that you have diabetes or sugar diabetes?
Influenza vaccination	During the past 12 months, have you had a flu shot?	NHIS: During the past 12 months, have you had a flu shot? A flu shot is usually given in the fall and protects against influenza for the flu season.
Pneumonia vaccination	Have you ever had a pneumonia shot? This shot is usually given only once or twice in a person's lifetime and is different from the flu shot. It is also called the pneumococcal vaccine.	—
No health insurance coverage	Do you have any kind of health care coverage, including health insurance, prepaid plans such as HMOs, or government plans such as Medicare?	NHIS: I have recorded you are (covered by/not covered by) health insurance. Is this correct?
Do not receive medical care due to cost	Was there a time in the past 12 months when you needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost?	NHIS: During the past 12 months, was there any time when [you/someone in the family] needed medical care, but did not get it because [you/the family] couldn't afford it?
Health status	Would you say that in general your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?	—
Asthma	Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you had asthma?	—
Testing for human immunodeficiency virus	Have you ever been tested for HIV? Do not count tests you may have had as part of a blood donation.	NHIS: The next questions are about the test for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). Except for tests you may have had as part of blood donations, have you ever been tested for HIV?
Height	About how tall are you without shoes?	NHIS: Total height in inches. NHANES: Standing height (cm).
Weight	About how much do you weigh without shoes?	NHIS: How much do you weigh without shoes? NHANES: Weight (kg).
Average number of alcoholic drinks per occasion	On the days when you drank, about how many drinks did you drink on the average? (response range: 1-76)	NHIS: In the past year, on those days that you drank alcoholic beverages, on the average, how many drinks did you have?
Binge drinking	Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have 5 or more drinks on an occasion? (response range: 1-76)	NHIS: In the past year, on how many days did you have 5 or more drinks of any alcoholic beverages? NHANES: How many days per week, per month, or per year did you have 5 or more drinks on a single day?

BRFSS indicates Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; NHIS, National Health Interview Survey; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

^a Text of questions for NHIS is shown only when different from BRFSS.