Description

ACUTHYPER indicates whether the person used acupuncture therapy to treat hypertension. Please see the Comparability and Universe tabs for more information on how this variable was constructed.

Comparability

In 2007, only sample adults were asked about their use of alternative health modalities to treat hypertension. Beginning in 2012, sample children ages 4-17 are also included in the universe.

Prior to 2012, in universe persons were asked about a series of specific health problems, symptoms, or conditions they may have treated with different complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Beginning in 2012, persons were instead asked to select three of sixteen therapies that were most important and only asked the series of questions related to treating health problems, symptoms, or conditions about these top three therapies. Respondents were only asked follow-up questions about the CAM therapies that they included among their top three CAM therapies. Persons who did not include acupuncture therapy among their top three CAM therapies are recording as responding "no" to ACUTHYPER. For more information on the construction of this variable, please see TABDOM1.

Additionally, prior to 2007 only sample adults could report using a CAM therapy to treat hypertension. However, beginning in 2007, sample children aged 4-17 could also report treating hypertension using a CAM therapy.

Universe

Availability

• 2002, 2007, 2012

Weights

• 2002, 2007 : SAMPWEIGHT
• 2012 : SUPP4WT