More than 400,000 adult interviews are conducted each year for this health survey, making it one of the largest continuously conducted health surveys in the world. The CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collects data on health-related risk behaviors, chronic conditions, and use of preventative services. It was established in 1984 and now covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories.
Use Cases
- Modeling the prevalence of chronic health conditions based on self-reported survey data.
- Analyzing correlations between health-related risk behaviors and demographic factors.
- Tracking geographic and temporal trends in the use of preventative services.
- Identifying population subgroups with higher risk profiles for targeted interventions.
Strengths
- Annual collection of over 400,000 interviews provides a large sample size.
- Continuous operation since 1984 allows for long-term trend analysis.
- Coverage includes all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and three territories.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Data is self-reported via telephone surveys, which may introduce response bias.
Provenance
- Source
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Collection Method
- Primarily collected from state-level telephone surveys.
- Time Range
- Data collection began in 1984 and is ongoing.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-15 12:15:55; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- United States, including all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories.