Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based health survey that annually collects information on health conditions, behaviors, preventive practices, and access to health care. BRFSS data are used to identify emerging health problems, establish health objectives and track their progress, and develop and evaluate public health policies and programs to address identified problems.

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Percent of Missouri adults living with health conditions

Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Current Asthma Derived from 'yes' responses to the following questions: Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you had asthma? AND Do you still have asthma? 2010 8.8 7.6 10
Arthritis Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia? 2009 31 29.2 32.8
Cancer Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that you had cancer? 2010 9.3 8.2 10.4
Diabetes Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes? (Females who responded yes to having been told they had diabetes only when pregnant and respondents that were told they had pre-diabetes or were borderline diabetic are not included as having diabetes. 2010 9.4 8.4 10.4
High Blood Pressure Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure? (Females who responded yes to having been told they had high blood pressure only when pregnant and respondents that were told they had borderline high or were pre-hypertensive are not included as having high blood pressure.) 2009 30.6 28.8 32.4
High Cholesterol Derived from 'yes' responses to the following questions: Blood cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood. Have you ever had your blood cholesterol checked? AND Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that your blood cholesterol is high? 2009 38.2 36.1 40.2
Angina or Coronary Heart Disease Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had angina or coronary heart disease? 2010 4.6 3.9 5.2
Myocardial Infarction or "Heart Attack"Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had a heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction? 2010 4.6 3.9 5.2
Stroke Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had a stroke? 2010 3.9 3.3 4.5
Epilepsy or Seizure Disorder Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have a seizure disorder or epilepsy? 2005 1.8 1.2 2.3
Disability Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Are you limited in any way in any activities because of physical, mental, or emotional problems? 2010 24.8 22.9 26.6

Percent of Missouri adults with risk factors

Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Fair or Poor General Health Status Derived from 'fair' or 'poor' response to the following question: Would you say that in general your health is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor? 2010 16.4 15.0 17.9
No Health Care Coverage Derived from 'no' response to the following question: Do you have any kind of health care coverage, including health insurance, prepaid plans such as HMOs, or government plans such as Medicare? 2010 15.0 13.0 17.0
Current Cigarette Smoking Derived from 'yes' response to the following question: Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life? AND 'Every day' or 'some days' response to the following question: Do you now smoke cigarettes every day, some days, or not at all? 2010 21.1 19.2 22.9
Binge Drinking (Women) Binge drinking is defined as having 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women on one or more occasions in the past 30 days. It is derived from yes or no response to to the question 'In the past 30 days, have you had a least one drink of any alcoholic beverage?' AND '1' or more times (occasions) response to the question 'Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have X [X=5 Men, X=4 Women] or more drinks on an occasion? 2010 10.1 7.8 12.3
Binge Drinking (Men) Binge drinking is defined as having 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women on one or more occasions in the past 30 days.<br>It is derived from yes or no response to to the question 'In the past 30 days, have you had a least one drink of any alcoholic beverage?' AND'1' or more times (occasions) response to the question 'Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have X [X=5 Men, X=4 Women] or more drinks on an occasion? 2010 21.5 18.6 24.5
Ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per Day Derived by calculating number of fruits and vegetables eaten per day using the following questions: How often do you drink fruit juices such as orange, grapefruit or tomato? Not counting juice, how often do you eat fruit How often do you eat green salad? How often do you eat potatoes not including French fries, fried potatoes or potato chips? How often do you eat carrots? Not counting carrots, potatoes or salad, how many servings of vegetables do you usually eat? 2009 19.9 18.2 21.6
No Leisure Time Physical Activity Derived from 'no' response to the following question: During the past 30 days, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercise such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise? 2010 27.2 25.2 29.2
Overweight Overweight is a BMI of 25.0 - 29.99. Obesity is a BMI of 30.0 and greater. Derived by calculating BMI using responses to the following questions: About how much do you weigh without shoes? About how tall are you without shoes? Body mass index (BMI) is an indicator or body fat and is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg / m2).Weight in pounds (lbs) is converted to weight in kilograms (kg) using 0.45 kg/lb. Height in feet and inches is first converted to height in inches (in), then height in centimeters (cm) using 2.54 cm/in, then to meters by dividing by 100. 2010 34.4 32.3 36.5
Obesity Overweight is a BMI of 25.0 - 29.99. Obesity is a BMI of 30.0 and greater. Derived by calculating BMI using responses to the following questions: About how much do you weigh without shoes? About how tall are you without shoes? Body mass index (BMI) is an indicator or body fat and is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg / m2).Weight in pounds (lbs) is converted to weight in kilograms (kg) using 0.45 kg/lb. Height in feet and inches is first converted to height in inches (in), then height in centimeters (cm) using 2.54 cm/in, then to meters by dividing by 100. 2010 31.4 29.3 33.5

Percent of Missouri adults engaging in preventive practices

Vaccinations Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Influenza Derived from 'yes' response from men and women 65 years of age and older to the following question: A flu shot is an influenza vaccine injected into your arm. During the past 12 months, have you had a flu shot? 2010 67.1 64.3 69.8
Pneumococcal Derived from 'yes' response from men and women 65 years of age and older to the following question: A pneumonia shot or pneumococcal vaccine is usually given only once or twice in a person's lifetime and is different from the flu shot. Have you ever had a pneumonia shot? 2010 71.2 68.5 73.9
Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Mammography Derived from 'Yes' response from women 50 years of age and older to the following question: 'A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast to look for breast cancer. Have you ever had a mammogram?' AND 'Within the past year' response to the question: 'How long has it been since you had your last mammogram?' 2010 64.1 61.3 67
Pap Test Derived from 'yes' response from women 18 years of age and older to the following question: A Pap test is a test for cancer of the cervix. Have you ever had a Pap? AND 'Within the past year' or 'Within the past 2 years' or 'Within the past 3 years' response to the following question: How long has it been since you had your last Pap test? 2010 80.1 77.2 83.1
Colon Cancer Screening Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Home Blood Stool Test Derived from 'yes' response from men and women 50 years of age and older to the following question: A blood stool test is a test that may use a special kit at home to determine whether the stool contains blood. Have you ever had this test using a home kit? AND 'Within the past year' or response to the following question: How long has it been since you had your last blood stool test using a home kit? 2010 38.7 34.1 43.4
Flexible Sigmoidoscopy/ColonoscopyDerived from 'yes' response from men and women 50 years of age and older to the following question: Sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy are exams in which a tube is inserted in the rectum to view the colon for signs of cancer or other health problems. Have you ever had either of these exams? 2010 65.2 63 67.5
Prostate Cancer Screening Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Derived from 'yes' response from men 40 years of age and older to the following question: A Prostate-Specific Antigen test, also called a PSA test, is a blood test used to check men for prostate cancer. Have you ever had a PSA test? AND 'Within the past year' response to the following question: How long has it been since you had your last PSA test? 2010 66.9 62.8 71
Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) Derived from a 'yes' response from men age 40 and older to the following question: A digital rectal exam is an exam in which a doctor, nurse or other health professional places a gloved finger into the rectum to feel the size, shape, and hardness of the prostate gland. Have you ever had a digital rectal exam? 2010 74.2 70.9 77.5
General Data Year Weighted % Lower CI Upper CI
Always wear seatbelt Derived from 'always' response to the following question: How often do you use seat belts when you drive or ride in a car? 2010 72.7 70.6 74.9
Folic Acid Women 18 to 44 years of age taking pill or supplement with folic acid daily Denominator: Women 18 to 44 years of age who answered yes or no to the question 'Do you currently take any vitamin pills or supplements?' EXCLUDE Those who answered no to the question 'Are any of these a multivitamin' AND 'Don't know/not sure' or 'Refused' to the question 'Do any of the vitamin pills or supplements you take contain folic acid?'Those who answered 'Don't know/not sure' or 'Refused' to the question 'Are any of these multivitamin' AND no or 'Don't know/not sure' or 'Refused' to the question 'Do any of the vitamin pills or supplements you take contain folic acid?' Numerator: Women 18 to 44 years of age who answered yes to the question 'One or more times per day' response to the question 'How often do you take this vitamin pill or supplement? 2006 40.3 35.3 45.4
HIV/AIDS Test Derived from 'yes' response from respondents 18 to 64 years of age to the following question: Have you ever been tested for HIV? Do not count tests you may have had as part of a blood donation. Include testing fluid from your mouth. 2010 33.4 30.8 36.1