Table 2.
Sample Health Characteristics According to Eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Interview Seasona, Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 1988–1994
| Health Characteristic | Eligible | Not Eligible | No. of Observations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February to April (n = 991) | May to January (n = 1,497) | February to April (n = 1,748) | May to January (n = 3,208) | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | % | Mean (SD) | % | Mean (SD) | % | Mean (SD) | % | ||
| General health | |||||||||
| Self-reported health excellent/very good | 54.9 | 57.8 | 76.5 | 81.6 | 7,444 | ||||
| Physician-reported health excellent/very good | 93.1 | 89.7 | 91.7 | 93.1 | 6,847 | ||||
| Lead, μg/dL | 3.21 (2.69) | 3.37 (2.45) | 2.22 (2.05) | 2.32 (1.97) | 5,230 | ||||
| Nutrition | |||||||||
| Enough food, past month | 76.7 | 84.9 | 95.5 | 97.7 | 7,444 | ||||
| No money for food | 16.5 | 11.5 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 7,441 | ||||
| No. of days with no food, past month | 0.94 (2.8) | 0.79 (2.8) | 0.16 (0.23) | 0.08 (0.78) | 7,436 | ||||
| Total calorie intake, kcal | 1,972 (971) | 1,764 (731) | 1,921 (934) | 1,892 (973) | 6,486 | ||||
| HEI score | 65.16 (12.51) | 64.07 (12.85) | 65.48 (12.21) | 64.95 (11.92) | 5,118 | ||||
| Hemoglobin, g/dL | 13.03 (1.16) | 12.85 (1.18) | 13.12 (1.11) | 12.97 (1.11) | 5,074 | ||||
| Iron, μg/dL | 82.23 (34.72) | 78.65 (36.51) | 82 (33.05) | 79.65 (34.29) | 5,114 | ||||
| HDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 51.56 (10.59) | 51.19 (11.78) | 50.32 (10.82) | 49.89 (11.31) | 3,543 | ||||
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 85.30 (52) | 86.65 (47.16) | 82.89 (43.61) | 84.61 (43.99) | 1,062 | ||||
| Glycated hemoglobin, % | 5.02 (0.3) | 5.02 (0.45) | 4.97 (0.37) | 5.02 (0.35) | 3,384 | ||||
| Inflammation/infection | |||||||||
| Infection, past 4 weeks | 40.6 | 46 | 42.8 | 47.2 | 6,820 | ||||
| Possible active infection | 5.9 | 10.4 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 6,839 | ||||
| White blood cell count, 1,000 cells/μL | 7.84 (2.32) | 7.78 (2.42) | 7.63 (2.22) | 7.73 (2.3) | 5,074 | ||||
| C-reactive protein, mg/dL | 0.25 (0.37) | 0.27 (0.33) | 0.27 (0.39) | 0.3 (0.42) | 3,006 | ||||
| Ferritin, ng/mL | 30.55 (18.32) | 39.17 (47.57) | 35.62 (24.63) | 36.27 (23.91) | 5,084 | ||||
| Test scores | |||||||||
| Math scoreb | 88.49 (15.84) | 86.79 (14.74) | 98.17 (18.08) | 94.44 (15.98) | 2,694 | ||||
| Reading scoreb | 83.93 (16.41) | 84.49 (16.04) | 95.33 (18.22) | 93.66 (16.11) | 2,616 | ||||
Abbreviations: HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HEI, Healthy Eating Index; NHANES III, Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; SD, standard deviation.
a Sample was drawn from NHANES III, conducted during 1988–1994. Characteristics were calculated using NHANES survey weights.
b Scores were obtained using the Wide Range Achievement Test–Revised.