These included:

• reasons for using chelation (CHEUSCOMBO, CHEUSHCREC, CHEUSINTER, CHEUSMEDCOST, CHEUSMEDFAIL)

• whether chelation was combined with conventional treatments (CHENOCONV) CHECOUN, CHENPMED, CHEPMED, CHEPT, CHESURG)

There are 131 variables for specific conditions that respondents could indicate were treated with chelation: 72 for adults only, 28 for children only, and 31 for both children and adults.

Sample adults only were able to indicate that they used chelation to treat:

• excessive use of alcohol or tobacco (CHETALCTOB)

• angina (CHETANGINA)

• anxiety or depression (CHETANXDEP)

• arthritis, lupus, or fibromyalgia (CHETARTHLF)

• back pain or problem (CHETBACPAIN)

• bipolar disorder (CHETBIPOL)

• birth defect (CHETBIRTHD)

• anemia and blood disorders (CHETBLOOD)

• bowel problems and constipation (CHETBOWL)

• cataracts (CHETCATAR)

• chronic bronchitis (CHETCBRON)

• cholesterol (CHETCHOL)

• congestive heart failure (CHETCONGHF)

• coronary heart disease (CHETCORON)

• other nerve damage, including carpal tunnel syndrome (CHETCTS)

• benign tumors or cysts (CHETCYST)

• dental pain (CHETDENPAIN)

• diabetic retinopathy (CHETDIABRET)

• emphysema (CHETEMPH)

• excessive sleepiness during the day (CHETESLEEPY)

• fibromyalgia (CHETFIBRO)

• fracture, bone or joint injury (CHETFRACT)

• glaucoma (CHETGLAUC)

• gout (CHETGOUT)

• gynecologic problem (CHETGYN)

• heart attack (CHETHATT)

• hernia (CHETHERN)

• hypertension (CHETHYPER)

• inflammatory bowel disease (CHETINFB)

• stomach or intestinal illness (CHETINTEST)

• irritable bowel (CHETIRRB)

• irregular heartbeat (CHETIRRH)

• jaw pain (CHETJAWPAIN)

• joint pain or stiffness/other joint condition (CHETJNTPAIN)

• weak or failing kidneys (CHETKIDNEY)

• poor circulation in legs (CHETLCIRC)

• liver problem (CHETLIVER)

• lupus (CHETLUPUS)

• macular degeneration (CHETMACD)

• allergy to medication (CHETMALL)

• mania or psychosis (CHETMANIA)

• memory loss or loss of other cognitive function (CHETMEMLOS)

• menopause (CHETMENOP)

• missing limbs (fingers, toes or digits), amputee (CHETMLIMB)

• multiple sclerosis (CHETMSCLER)

• neck pain or problem (CHETNECPAIN)

• neuropathy (CHETNEUROP)

• circulation problems (other than in the legs) (CHETNLCIRC)

• other allergies -- adult (CHETOALLA)

• other heart condition or disease (CHETOHART)

• other infectious diseases (CHETOINF)

• other injury (CHETOINJ)

• knee problems (not arthritis, not joint injury) (CHETOKNEE)

• osteoporosis, tendinitis (CHETOSTEO)

• Parkinson's (CHETPARK)

• polio (myelitis), paralysis, para/quadriplegia (CHETPOLIO)

• prostate trouble or impotence (CHETPROST)

• recurring pain (CHETRECPAIN)

• Rheumatoid arthritis (CHETRHEUM)

• schizophrenia (CHETSCHIZ)

• senility (CHETSENILE)

• skin problems (CHETSKINA)

• sprain or strain (CHETSPRAIN)

• stress (CHETSTRESS)

• stroke (CHETSTROKE)

• substance abuse, other than alcohol or tobacco (CHETSUBST)

• thyroid problem (CHETTHYR)

• ulcer (CHETULCER)

• varicose veins, hemorrhoids (CHETVEIN)

• other (CHETOTH2, CHETOTH3)

Sample children only were able to indicate that they used chelation to treat:

• abdominal pain (CHETABDOM)

• acne (CHETACNE)

• anemia -- children (CHETANEMC)

• back or neck pain (CHETBNPAIN)

• colitis (CHETCOLIT)

• congenital heart disease (CHETCONGHD)

• Down syndrome (CHETDOWN)

• ear infections (CHETEARINF)

• eczema or skin allergy (CHETECZEM)

• fatigue (CHETFATIG)

• fever (CHETFEVER)

• cystic fibrosis (CHETFIBROS)

• incontinence (CHETINCON)

• muscular dystrophy (CHETMUSCD)

• neurological problems (CHETNEUROL)

• other allergies -- children (CHETOALLC)

• other heart conditions -- children (CHETOHARTC)

• other chronic pain (CHETOTHPAIN)

• cerebral palsy (CHETPALSY)

• chicken pox (CHETPOX)

• respiratory allergy (CHETRALL)

• sickle cell anemia (CHETSICKL)

• other skin problems--children (CHETSKINC)

• non-strep sore throat (CHETSORET)

• stammering or stuttering (CHETSTAM)

• strep throat or tonsillitis (CHETSTREP)

• nausea or vomiting (CHETVOMIT)

• warts (CHETWART)

Both sample adults and sample children were able to indicate that they used chelation to treat:

• Attention Deficit Disorder (CHETADD)

• anxiety (CHETANX)

• arthritis (CHETARTH)

• asthma (CHETASTH)

• autism (CHETAUT)

• cancer (CHETCANC)

• head or chest cold (CHETCOLD)

• constipation needing medication (CHETCONST)

• depression (CHETDEPRES)

• diabetes (CHETDIAB)

• allergy to food (CHETFALL)

• influenza or pneumonia (CHETFLU)

• gum disease (CHETGUM)

• hay fever (CHETHAY)

• hearing problem (CHETHEAR)

• insomnia (CHETINSOM)

• menstrual problems (CHETMENST)

• migraine or severe headache (CHETMIG)

• other developmental problem (CHETODD)

• other lung or breathing problem (CHETOLUNG)

• other musculoskeletal problem (CHETOMUSC)

• phobias (CHETPHOBIA)

• acid reflux (CHETREFLUX)

• regular headaches (CHETREGHEAD)

• mental retardation (CHETRET)

• seizures (CHETSEIZ)

• sinusitis (CHETSINUS)

• urinary problem (CHETURIN)

• vision problem (CHETVISION)

• weight problem (CHETWEIGHT)

• other (CHETOTH1)

The aforementioned variables indicating which conditions respondents treated via chelation provide a "yes" or "no" response for each condition. Analysts interested in the conditions that chelation was used to treat may wish to consult the following summary variables, as well:

• condition for which chelation was used most (CHETCONMOST)

• first condition for which chelation was used (CHECON1)

• degree of help from chelation, 1st condition (CHECON1HELP)

• second condition for which chelation was used (CHECON2)

• degree of help from chelation, 2nd condition (CHECON2HELP)

• third condition for which chelation was used (CHECON3)

• degree of help from chelation, 3rd condition (CHECON3HELP)

• condition count for chelation (CHECONNO)

In 2002, they were asked, "Did you use chelation to treat a specific health problem or condition?"

In 2007, they were asked, "Did you use chelation for a specific health problem or condition?"

For sample children, interviewers asked, "During the past 12 months, did [fill: sample child's name] use chelation for a specific health problem or condition?" However, two of the questions for sample adults preceding CHETREAT in both 2002 and 2007 (CHEYR and CHENO) did specify the 12 month time frame. Respondents were only asked the question for CHETREAT if they indicated in CHEYR that they had seen a practitioner for chelation during the past 12 months.