Created variables
40+ Health Module
These data were collected over a number of years from each respondent interviewed as s/he turned 40. Most of these data items are actual survey data collected directly from the respondent. They have been compiled into the following single set of variables for all respondents who provided data. Created variables are listed below:
- H40-SOURCEYR: The survey year in which the respondent reported his/her 40+ health module data
- H40-CES-D_SCORE_7_ITEM: Computed standardized 7-item CES-D score
- H40-BPAR-5_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for major health problems of respondent's biological father
- H40-BPAR-10_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for major health problems of respondent's biological mother
- H40-SF12_PCS_SCORE: Computed SF-12 physical component summary score
- H40-SF12_MCS_SCORE: Computed SF-12 mental component summary score
- H40-CHRC-3C_CODE.##: Organ/body part affected by reported cancers
50+ Health Module
This module of questions contains baseline information on various aspects of the respondent's health collected for two-year birth cohorts as they have turned or are about to turn 50. Data collected includes information on general health status, the SF-12 battery of questions, the CES-D depressions scale, specific diagnosis of a number of health conditions, and a larger inventory of conditions from which the respondent may suffer. Created variables are listed below:
- H50-SOURCEYR: The survey year in which the respondent reported his/her 50+ health module data
- H50-CES-D_SCORE_7_ITEM: Computed standardized 7-item CES-D score
- H50-BPAR-5_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for major health problems of respondent's biological father
- H50-BPAR-10_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for major health problems of respondent's biological mother
- H50-SF12_PCS_SCORE: Computed SF-12 physical component summary score
- H50-SF12_MCS_SCORE: Computed SF-12 mental component summary score
- H50CHRC-3C_CODE.##: Organ/body part affected by reported cancers
- H50OPEN-1A_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for respondent's self-reported health problems
60+ Health Module
This module of questions contains baseline information on various aspects of the respondent's health collected for two-year birth cohorts as they have turned or are about to turn 60. Data collected includes information on general health status, the SF-12 battery of questions, the CES-D depressions scale, specific diagnosis of a number of health conditions, and a larger inventory of conditions from which the respondent may suffer. Created variables are listed below:
- H60-SOURCEYR: The survey year in which the respondent reported his/her 50+ health module data
- H60-DIENER_SWLS_SCORE – Computed score for Diener Satisfaction With Life Scale
- H60-GAD-7_SCORE – Computed score for General Anxiety Disorder scale
- H60-CES-D_SCORE_7_ITEM: Computed standardized 7-item CES-D score
- H60-BPAR-5_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for major health problems of respondent's biological father
- H60-BPAR-10_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for major health problems of respondent's biological mother
- H60-SF12_PCS_SCORE: Computed SF-12 physical component summary score
- H60-SF12_MCS_SCORE: Computed SF-12 mental component summary score
- H60CHRC-3C_CODE.##: Organ/body part affected by reported cancers
- H60OPEN-1A_ICD10113_CODE#: Codes for respondent's self-reported health problems
The NLSY79 health sections are organized into two distinct periods:
- 1979 to 1996: During this time, most questions addressed health concerns that limited or restricted the respondent's ability to work.
- 1998 and beyond: As respondents entered middle age, the Health section was expanded to establish a baseline profile of their overall health at ages 40, 50, and 60.
| Year(s) | Ability to Work data collected |
|---|---|
| 1979 - 1982 |
A standard set of health questions was administered during each survey. The focus of these questions was on health problems that restricted or prohibited a respondent's ability to work. For example, in each year the survey asked three questions:
While information is collected on up to three health conditions, the respondent is asked to identify which of the conditions is the "main" condition. Follow-up questions regarding the main condition include the month and year the condition began and how long the respondent has been limited in this way. In addition, the name of the condition is gathered and later coded using a modified version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) codes taken from the World Health Organization, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, 2 vols., WHO, Geneva, 1977 (vol. 1) and 1978 (vol. 2). See Attachment 8 of the NLSY79 Codebook Supplement for a detailed description of these codes. Additional details collected on respondent health conditions include information on whether the youth ever saw or talked to a medical person regarding the condition, what the cause of the condition was, what part of the body was affected, and when the respondent first noticed the condition. If the condition was caused by an accident or injury, the date of the accident/injury, as well as information on the parts of the body that were hurt, was collected. A description of the coding scheme used for the body part information is also contained in Attachment 8. |
| 1983 - 1987 | The amount of data collected on health was significantly reduced to basic information on whether the respondent had a work-limiting health problem and the duration of any limitation. While this same short series of questions has been asked in virtually every round of the NLSY79, significant additions were made in the late 1980s. |
| Beginning in 1988 | An extensive series of questions was initiated on work-related injuries or illnesses. The respondent is asked specifically for the most recent and most severe work injury. The questions are asked to determine the nature and extent of the condition, whether the respondent received Workers Compensation payments, and the impact of the condition on the respondent. A sample of the impact questions include whether there were lost wages or missed days at work or the worker had to quit work or change occupations or was fired from the job as a result of the injury or illness. |
| Beginning in 1998 | All respondents are asked about their participation in regular physical activity on and off the job. |
40-and-over Health Module
Beginning in 1998, because of the aging of the cohort, an extended health module was administered to respondents at the first interview after turning age 40 and general questions on physical activity and exercise were administered to all respondents. While the pre-1998 health questions provide a picture of the respondent's current health restrictions, they offer little insight into chronic health problems that will affect their labor force activity in the future. For example, a serious ailment that slowly develops over time will not be picked up by the regular health questions until the respondent actually drops out of the labor market. This extended health module was created to provide a baseline health profile of the respondent for examining the interrelationship of health and labor market activity in advance of the retirement years. Variables with CCR (Chronic Conditions Roster) in the title have been labeled with this acronym internally for consistent sorting.
To broaden the usefulness of the NLSY79 health data, this extended module, comprising four major parts, is not restricted to work-related health problems, and all questions are asked irrespective of the respondent's labor force status.
- The first part of the 40-and-over module asks respondents to answer the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The 1998 and 2000 surveys collected a reduced set of seven items from the original 20 item CES-D scale (the full 20-item scale was last administered in 1992). The number of items was increased to nine beginning in 2002.
- The second part of the extended health profile asks respondents when they last saw a health care professional. These questions provide researchers with the date of the respondent's last physical exam and last visit to the doctor for any reason. Information on individuals who never visit a doctor is available as well. This subsection also gathers information about the health and life status of the NLSY79 respondents' biological parents. Questions which ask respondents about their parent's health are designed to improve researchers' understanding of hereditary health problems. Respondents are asked whether their biological parents are alive and if not, their parent's age at death and cause of death. Information is also gathered about any major health problems afflicting either parent.
- The third section reproduces the SF-12 scale, a 12-question health survey designed by John Ware of the New England Medical Center Hospital. The SF-12 is designed to provide a measure of the respondents' mental and physical health irrespective of their proclivity to use formal health services. Detailed information on the SF-12 is available from QualityMetric. QualityMetric also provides researchers with software and algorithms to score the SF-12. For more information see Appendix 19.
- The last section of the 40-and-over health module asks respondents if they suffer from an extensive list of health conditions. Respondents with certain major conditions, such as cancer, hypertension, or diabetes, are asked the date at which the condition was first diagnosed and other details relevant to the particular condition.
50-and-over Health Module
This module was included beginning in 2008. The module is administered to progressive two-year birth year cohorts in the survey year during which they would turn at least age 50. NLSY79 respondents were born in 1957-1964. In 2008, the module was administered to respondents born in 1957-1958. In 2010, the module was administered to those born in 1959-1960, and anyone who skipped the 2008 interview, and so on. The 50-and-over Health module contains many of the same questions as the 40-and-over Health module. Some questions provide a second decennial point of reference for general health information. Many others provide updates on previously reported conditions. Questions about diagnosis of skin cancer and other types of cancer, various heart disease-related conditions, and stroke are also asked.
50-and-over respondents are again administered the CES-D items and the SF-12 question series, as well as questions about the life and health status of their parents if they were reported living in the 40-and-over module. In addition, 50-and-over respondents are asked to update information on previously reported conditions such as hypertension/high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes/high blood sugar, asthma and non-asthma breathing problems, depression, and other emotional/psychiatric problems.
The 50-and-over Health module also contains questions on diagnosis of osteoporosis and the use of special equipment needed to accomplish usual activities, as well as a scale of functionality and the respondent's sleep habits. Finally, respondents are asked for other information about their health that they would like to report.
60-and-over Health Module
This module was included beginning in 2018. Similar to the 50-and-over Health Module, the 60-and-over Health Module is administered to progressive two-year birth year cohorts in the survey year during which they turn at least age 60. NLSY79 respondents were born in 1957-1964. In 2018, the module was administered to respondents born in 1957-1958. In 2020, the module was administered to those born in 1959-1960, and anyone who skipped the 2018 interview, and so on. The 60-and-over Health module contains many questions similar to the 40-and-over and 50-and-over modules, providing a third decennial point of reference for general health information for many respondents. Updates on some previously reported conditions are also collected. Questions about diagnosis of skin cancer and other types of cancer, various heart disease-related conditions, and stroke are also asked. Questions about Alzheimer's and other dementia-related conditions are included in the module, as well.
60-and-over respondents are again administered the CES-D items and the SF-12 question series, as well as questions about the life and health status of their parents if they were reported living in the most recent health module administered to the respondent. In addition, 60-and-over respondents are asked to update information on previously reported conditions such as hypertension/high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes/high blood sugar, asthma and non-asthma breathing problems, depression, and other emotional/psychiatric problems. The 60-and-over module also contains several other attitudinal scales, including the Satisfaction With Life Scale/SWLS (Deiner, et. al.) and General Anxiety Disorder/GAD scale (Spitzer, et. al.). In 2018, four items on the Brief Resilience Scale/BRS (Smith, et. al.) were administered. Although the BRS questions were intended to be fielded again in 2020, they were discontinued partway through the survey round due to time constraints. A portion of the BRS data collected in 2020 is available in the public release.
The 60-and-over Health module also contains questions on the diagnosis of osteoporosis and the use of special equipment needed to accomplish usual activities, as well as a scale of functionality and the respondent's sleep habits. Finally, respondents are asked for other information about their health that they would like to report.
General health
Questions about general health practices and visits to health care professionals have been asked of respondents since the 2002 interview. Respondents are asked about levels and frequency of activity, whether they have had routine tests, whether they have discussed general health issues with their doctors, if they take certain kinds of medications, and usual eating habits.
Respondent characteristics
Height and weight
A respondent's height and weight are natural indicators of health. Height questions were asked in 1981, 1982, 1983 (only to females who were ever pregnant), 1985, and 2006-2016. Exercise caution because the height questions have been collected in a variety of formats. The 1981 question combines feet and inches into a single number. Hence, respondents range from 400 (four feet and zero inches) to 611 (six feet and eleven inches). The 1982 and 1985 questions convert all answers into just inches. The 1983 height questions are found under two different reference numbers: female height in feet is provided in R09989., while height in inches is provided in R09990.
Since weight fluctuates more than height, questions on weight are asked more frequently. Weight questions appear in the 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988-90, and 1992-2016 surveys. Weight in all years is recorded in pounds. The weight data are normally distributed from 50 to 400 pounds in all years except 1989. In 1989, there are 11 individuals marked as weighing 996 pounds. This number is not a true weight but rather an out-of-range code. Users are advised to examine height and weight distributions prior to analysis in order to make informed decisions as to how to handle outliers.
Hair and eye color
Respondent hair and eye colors were collected during the 1985 interview and information on whether they were left or right handed was collected in the 1993 interview.
Asthma
In 2004 a series of questions about asthma were added to the survey. These included the onset and diagnosis of asthma, whether the respondent missed work, when they had an attack and methods of prescribed treatment. Also included were questions regarding onset in the children of female respondents. A reduced set of asthma questions were included beginning with the 2006 survey.
Heart medication
Beginning in 2008 respondents were asked if they were taking any statin drugs or heart medications.
Childhood health
In 2012, all respondents were asked a series of new questions on childhood health including overall health, major hospitalizations, or long periods of home recovery. Adversity questions included family mental health, alcohol abuse, physical abuse, and amount of parental affection. Researchers believe that questions such as these are predictive of adult obesity and other health-related outcomes. This question series was asked in 2014 or 2016 for those who were not interviewed in 2012.
Head injury
Also introduced in 2012 was a module on traumatic head injury. All respondents were asked if they have experienced a serious head injury or loss of smell. Because traumatic head injury and loss of smell have been found in numerous studies to be linked to subsequent dementia, these questions were added to augment ongoing efforts to track respondents' cognitive function as they advance into middle age and beyond. This module was repeated in 2014 or 2016 for those not interviewed in 2012.
| Comparison to Other NLS Surveys |
Maternal prenatal care information and health-related characteristics are provided on the NLSY79 Child and Young Adult data set. As part of the child data collection, the Mother Supplement (MS) survey instrument includes a selection of scales measuring the child's temperament, motor and social development, and behavior problems. Information on the child's health is also collected from the mother in the Child Supplement (CS) survey instrument. Respondents in the other cohorts have answered questions about their health; however, the specific questions have varied widely as the health sections were modified to reflect the respondents' varying life cycle stages. The round 1 NLSY97 interview included a series of questions, addressed to youths born in 1983, on respondents' health practices and knowledge. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information. |
|---|---|
| Related Variables | Additional information on the relationship between health and labor force status can be found in the CPS section. The CPS section contains questions allowing respondents to state that they are not in the labor force because of health problems. Unfortunately, these questions do not describe the specific problem, when the problem started, or how long the problem has lasted. Information on substance use (smoking, drugs, alcohol) is collected as part of a largely self-administered report in selected survey years. See the Alcohol Use, Cigarette Use, and Drug Use sections of this guide for further information on these topics. Information on health practices related to sexual activity and pregnancy can be found in the fertility section of selected surveys. For further information see the Fertility and Sexual Activity and Contraception sections. Information on self-perceptions and self-esteem measures can be found in the Attitudes and Expectations section. |
| Survey Instruments and Documentation | Health questions are located within the "Health" section of each questionnaire. Attachment 8: Health Codes in the NLSY79 Codebook Supplement provides detailed information about the coding of health-related variables in the NLSY79 surveys. |
| Areas of Interest |
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