Health Risk Factors
In the U.S., construction workers have elevated rates of smoking, heavy drinking, hypertension, and being overweight/obese, which puts them at higher risk of a variety of severe chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, respiratory disease, cancer) and even death. They also may have an increased likelihood of having cardiac risk factors due to their lack of a recommended exercise routine and possible exposure to hazardous dust, fumes, and chemicals at a worksite. In addition, these health risk factors can lead to an increase in healthcare costs.
This dashboard compares health risk factor trends among workers in all industries and the construction industry. Demographic trends within construction will also be examined. This dashboard includes two dashboard-level filters, Year and Health Risk Factor, and one chart-level filter, Demographic, all of which update their respective charts and the bolded and underlined key findings.
Following the interactive dashboard, you will find more information on the data source, definitions, chart notes, a downloadable data file, and recommended citation. This interactive data dashboard corresponds to a chapter in the upcoming PDF version of the Construction Chart Book-7th edition, which will be published this summer. Data will be updated annually as available. If you have any questions or comments, please email [email protected].
About the Data
Lynn A. Blewett, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Miriam L. King, Kari C.W. Williams, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, and Stephanie Richards. IPUMS Health Surveys: National Health Interview Survey, Version 7.4 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2024. https://doi.org/10.18128/D070.V7.4.
Definitions and Chart Notes
Definitions
- All industries – Individuals aged 18+ who reported an industry, excluding military or unknown, for their employment.
- Cardiac risk factors – Respondents who have been diagnosed with hypertension (ever and within the last year), coronary heart disease (ever), chronic chest pain (angina pectoris over the last year), heart attack (myocardial infarction ever), and any other heart conditions not previously listed.
- Cardiovascular disease – Any disease of the heart and blood vessels, such as heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. For more information, see: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease.
- Construction industry – Individuals aged 18+ whose main job in the week before the survey was in Construction (Standard Industrial Classification: 10).
- Diabetes– Respondents who had been diagnosed with diabetes or sugar diabetes by a doctor or other health professional.
- Health risk factors – Health conditions or behaviors that increase the likelihood of morbidity, premature death, and development of chronic conditions.
- Heavy drinking– More than 14 drinks per week for men and 7 drinks per week for women over the last 12 months.
- Hypertension – Elevated blood pressure. For more information, see: https://nhis.ipums.org/nhis-action/variables/HYPERTENEV#description_section.
- Hypertension (ever) – Includes respondents who had ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that they had high blood pressure.
- Hypertension (past year) – Includes respondents who had high blood pressure during the past 12 months. For more information, see: https://nhis.ipums.org/nhis-action/variables/HYPERTENYR#description_section
- Overweight/Obese– Body Mass Index (BMI) is greater or equal to 25. BMI is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters.
- Smoking – Current smoker.
Chart Notes
- Data for the years 2019 and 2022 are not included due to rotating the schedule of industry-specific data collection for the NHIS survey questionnaire. For more information, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/Sample-Adult-Questionnaire.pdf.
- Data for some health risk factors were not collected in the years 2020, 2021, and 2023 due to rotating schedule of the NHIS survey questionnaire. For more information, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/Sample-Adult-Questionnaire.pdf.
Recommended Citation and Data File
Recommended Citation
CPWR–The Center for Construction Research and Training. [2025]. Health Risk Factors in Construction [dashboard].
Data File
The Data File includes data for health risk factors among construction workers as presentated in the data dashboard.