Description

CLIMENTALMO reports the duration, in months, of a limiting mental problem. This information is reported only for persons age 18+ who had at least one activity limitation (LANY), and who limitation was due to a mental problem not listed on the interviewer-provided flashcard (CLIMENTAL).

Data on the duration of limiting other mental problems were collected via the question, "How long [have/has] [you/person] had [other mental problems]?" Respondents could answer this open-ended question using the time unit of their choice (i.e., days, weeks, months, or years). The original responses to the question are reported in two complementary variables, CLIMENTALTP (which specifies the time unit) and CLIMENTALNO (which reports the number of such units). For the NHIS public use files, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recoded the results from these two variables to create two other variables using standard time units: years (CLIMENTALY) and groups of months (CLIMENTALMO).

Comparability

Apart from a change in the coding of "unknown" cases, this variable is comparable across years.

Analysts can achieve comparability across all years by combining codes with a common first digit of 9 into a single "unknown" category.

Universe

Availability

• 1997-2018

Weights

• 1997-2018 : PERWEIGHT