Description

MASTCONMOST reports the condition which the person has used massage therapy to treat the most. Please see the Comparability and Universe tabs for more information on changes in this variable over time.

Comparability

Prior to 2012, in universe persons were asked about a series of questions about specific health problems, symptoms, or conditions they may have treated with different complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies.

Beginning in 2012, in universe persons were 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. Unlike other CAM variables created through special programming in 2012, MASTCONMOST excludes persons who did not report massage among their top three CAM therapies. Persons who wish to include these cases in the universe for MASTCONMOST, may identify such persons by using the variables CAMTHER1, CAMTHER2, and CAMTHER3, which report the person's top three CAM therapies.

Changes in universe also pose comparability challenges; in 2007, only sample adults were included in the universe. Beginning in 2012, however, sample adults and sample children are included in the universe.

Universe

Availability

• 2007, 2012

Weights

• 2007 : SAMPWEIGHT
• 2012 : SUPP4WT