This report compares specific health conditions, overall health, and health care utilization prevalence estimates from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and other national data sources. Methodological differences among these data sources that may contribute to differences in estimates are described. In addition to NSDUH, three of the data sources use respondent self-reports to measure health characteristics and service utilization: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). One survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducts initial interviews in respondents\' homes, collecting further data at nearby locations. Five data sources provide health care utilization data extracted from hospital records; these sources include the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), the National Health and Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), and the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Several methodological differences that could cause differences in estimates are discussed, including type and mode of data collection; weighting and representativeness of the sample; question placement, wording, and format; and use of proxy reporting for adolescents.
