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National Health Examination Survey, Cycle III (NHES III) Public-use Data File

Survey description
Data file description
List of data file variables
Technical characteristics
Geographic coverage
Data availability
Ordering information
Documentation contents
Related reports
Contacts
NHANES Web Site

Survey description
The National Health Examination Survey, Cycle III (NHES III) was conducted on a nationwide probability sample of 7,514 youths 12-17 years of age. Of the 7,514 youths selected for the sample, 6,768 (90 percent) were examined. Adjusted sampling weights were computed in order to inflate the sample so as to closely reflect the 23 million youths in the U.S. population at that time in terms of age, sex, and certain other demographic characteristics.

Because the same basic sampling plan was used in Cycle III as in the earlier Cycle II, nearly one-third of the children examined in Cycle II were also examined in Cycle III. In the Cycle III Extended Data Tape (EDT), provision has been made for the user to identify sample persons examined in both surveys and to create from the Cycle II Integrated Data Tape (IDT) and the Cycle III EDT a composite data set for longitudinal studies.

Data file description
The NHES III tape contains responses to detailed questionnaires for medical and developmental histories; responses to school questionnaires; results of medical, dental, and psychological examinations, and vision and hearing tests; anthropometric measurements; and certain x-rays and laboratory tests.

List of data file variables at a glance
See section on "Data file description".

Data file technical characteristics
Results from NHES III are contained on one tape. The specific characteristics of the data tape are:

 Geographic coverage
NHES III included the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population 12-17 years of age.

Data availability
The NHES III data tape contains all data collected over the entire course of the survey: March 1966-March 1970. Data are only available on data tape. Other studies related to this survey are HHANES, NHANES I, NHANES II, NHANES III and NHES, Cycle 1 and Cycle 2.

Ordering information
The NHES III data tape can only be purchased through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The NTIS order numbers are as follows:

Data on tape

 Documentation contents
The major data elements obtained and derived from this survey have been compiled into one EDT. The data tape documentation contains a brief description of NHES III, a file description, a detailed description of the data items, and detailed notes on items judged not to be self-explanatory. A sample weight for each examined person is included.

Related reports
A detailed description of the design and operation of NHES III is provided in Vital and Health Statistics, Series 1, No. 8, which contains a detailed discussion of the contents of NHES III and the rationale and purpose for the inclusion of various components of the examination. Some reports that contain results from Cycle III of the National Health Examination Survey are Vital and Health Statistics, Series 11, Nos. 159-163 and 167.

This page last reviewed November 17, 2009