NHANES III: U.S. Health and Nutrition Survey, 1988-1994

The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services from 1988 to 1994. It contains data for 33,994 persons aged 2 months and older, obtained through interviews and physical examinations. The dataset includes information on conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity, as well as dietary intake and nutritional measures.

Use Cases

• Modeling risk factors for chronic diseases based on health examination and dietary data.
• Analyzing demographic disparities in nutritional status and health outcomes.
• Studying trends in environmental exposures, such as blood lead levels, across the population.
• Investigating correlations between dietary intake, as indicated by recall files, and specific health measures.

Strengths

• Nationally representative sample of 33,994 persons in the United States.
• Data collection combines interview responses with direct physical examinations.
• Includes a wide range of health measures mentioned in the description, from chronic diseases to dietary intake.

Limitations

• Row count for individual data files is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

United States Department Of Health And Human Services. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. National Center For Health Statistics

Collection Method

Nationally representative surveys conducted through interviews and direct physical examinations, including mobile and home examinations.

Time Range

1988-1994

Freshness

Data collection period ended in 1994; historical dataset.

Geography

United States