What to Expect and Information Collected

Your household will be sent one or more letters inviting you to participate in NHANES.

Complete a brief online questionnaire about the people living in your home to see if anyone is eligible to participate. This can also be done over the telephone.

Anyone eligible will be contacted by an NHANES representative to set up a telephone health interview at a convenient time.  During this phone call, you will be asked questions about your health and any health problems, like diabetes or asthma. Anything you say during this interview is confidential.

The handcards that you will need for the interview can be found on our Household Interview Resources page.

At the end of the interview, we will schedule your visit to the NHANES Mobile Exam Center.  Your health exam is specific to you – based on your age and gender.  Some of the health exams participants receive are

• Height, weight, and other body measures
• Blood pressure reading
• Body composition scan
• Balance test
• Liver function scan

While you are at the exam center, we will schedule a follow-up telephone call to ask about the foods you eat.

You will get results from your health exam, including laboratory results from urine and blood samples, that you can share with your health care provider. Examples of some tests include

• Cholesterol
• Glucose
• Nutrition status, including tests for anemia and Vitamin D
• Kidney function tests
• Inherited hemoglobin traits, such as sickle cell
• Infectious diseases
• Exposure to environmental chemicals
• Exposure to environmental metals