Validate AA BRFSS Percents
Introduction - By comparing with existing analyses from other sources, we verified Vitalnet (VB-QMS) produces correct BRFSS age-adjusted percents.
Methods - The Alaska BRFSS program is one of the few States that publishes age-adjusted statistics. We built in the same standard population Alaska uses: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+. We chose eight Alaska Year 2009 questions that were not asked on the Modified BRFSS, had PDF results published on the Alaska web site, and were asked of all respondents:
_CHOLCHK_______5YR_ - Had cholesterol check in past 5 years?
_FRTINDX_______GE5_ - Eats at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day?
HAVARTH_______EVER_ - Doctor made a diagnosis of arthritis?
_RFBINGE_______30D_ - Has recently been a binge drinker?
_RFCHOL_______EVER_ - Had cholesterol check and told high?
_RFDRHVY_______30D_ - Has recently been a heavy drinker?
VIGCAT_________NOW_ - Vigorous activity recommendations met?
Results - Each of 16 comparisons exactly matched:
| Question Code |
Female | Male | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VB-QMS | AK PDF | VB-QMS | AK PDF | |
| BPHIGH_NP_____EVER_ | 26.4 | 26.4 | 29.3 | 29.3 |
| _CHOLCHK_______5YR_ | 74.0 | 74.0 | 69.5 | 69.5 |
| _FRTINDX_______GE5_ | 27.7 | 27.7 | 19.3 | 19.3 |
| HAVARTH_______EVER_ | 27.6 | 27.6 | 22.3 | 22.3 |
| _RFBINGE_______30D_ | 12.3 | 12.3 | 22.2 | 22.2 |
| _RFCHOL_______EVER_ | 31.8 | 31.8 | 32.3 | 32.3 |
| _RFDRHVY_______30D_ | 06.5 | 06.5 | 05.7 | 05.7 |
| VIGCAT_________NOW_ | 32.6 | 32.6 | 44.3 | 44.3 |
Discussion - We validated that VB-QMS BRFSS age-adjusted statistics work correctly.
Different methods, such as VB-QMS, SAS, and SUDAAN, can produce correct BRFSS results. You can compare for yourself, in terms of ease-of-use, speed, reliability, output quality, and other criteria, which method is better.
You can easily generate your own VB-QMS results to do additional comparisons with results from other sources. If you have suggestions / comments, or to discuss licensing Vitalnet BRFSS Query & Mapping Software to make much better use of your data, please contact us.