Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Biomarker Restricted-Use Files (ICPSR 36840)

Version Date: Feb 1, 2019 View help for published

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse; United States Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Tobacco Products

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36840.v4

Version V4 ()

  • V22 [2024-07-17]
  • V21 [2024-06-14] unpublished
  • V20 [2023-12-15] unpublished
  • V19 [2023-03-22] unpublished
  • V18 [2022-12-16] unpublished
  • V16 [2022-05-11] unpublished
  • V15 [2021-12-16] unpublished
  • V14 [2021-07-15] unpublished
  • V13 [2021-06-03] unpublished
  • V11 [2020-08-17] unpublished
  • V10 [2020-06-22] unpublished
  • V9 [2020-03-19] unpublished
  • V8 [2020-03-05] unpublished
  • V7 [2020-03-05] unpublished
  • V6 [2019-11-05] unpublished
  • V5 [2019-03-19] unpublished
  • V4 [2019-02-01] unpublished
  • V3 [2018-09-28] unpublished
  • V2 [2018-05-01] unpublished
  • V1 [2017-08-08] unpublished

You are currently viewing an older version of this data collection. A more recent version may be available by selecting ()

Additional information about this collection can be found in Version History.

2019-02-01 Data and documentation for the Wave 1 VOCM urine panel (DS1009) and the master linkage file (DS0001) were updated for the collection.

2018-10-01 2018-09-28 Data and documentation for five panel assays (F2PGa, hsCRP, IL6, siCAM, and Fibro) was added to the collection. Additionally, data and documentation for the master linkage file was updated. The respondent's local time zones were converted to Eastern Time and the variable R01R_A_URINE_LASTURINATION was recalculated. One case was corrected for variable R01R_A_URINE_NEQ_TDIFF.

2018-05-01 The eight panel assay files were updated due to a modification in the derivation algorithm for the variables "R01R_A_XXXX_IMPFLAG". The text for this variable and that of "R01R_A_XXXX_RESULT_IMP" were updated to include a more detailed algorithm.

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:

  • United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Tobacco Products. Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Biomarker Restricted-Use Files. ICPSR36840-v4. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-02-01. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36840.v4

2017-08-08 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

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PATH Study Biomarker RUF

The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a collaboration between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study was launched in 2011 to inform the FDA's tobacco regulatory activities under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). For Wave 1 (baseline), the PATH Study sampled over 150,000 mailing addresses across the United States to create a national sample of tobacco users and non-users, yielding interviews with 45,971 adult and youth respondents.

Each adult respondent, who completed the interview, was asked to provide at least two biospecimens. Providing biospecimens was voluntary and was not a condition of participation. Respondents were asked to report their use of all nicotine-containing products during the 3-day period prior to the time of any biospecimen collection (Nicotine Exposure Questions (NEQs)) to facilitate interpretation of biomarker results.

Of the 32,320 respondents who completed the adult interview, 21,801 (67.4 percent) provided a urine specimen and 14,520 (44.9 percent) provided a blood specimen. A sample of 11,522 adults who provided sufficient urine for the planned analyses were selected from a diverse mix of six tobacco product use groups representing never, current, and recent former (within 12 months) users of tobacco products. 7,159 of the 11,522 adults also provided a blood specimen. All urine and blood specimens provided by these sampled adults were sent for laboratory analysis.

Restricted-Use Biomarker Data Files (Biomarker RUF) consist of three different types of files:

  • 2 Collection and NEQs for Urine (DS1001) and Blood (DS1101)
  • 2 Biomarker Weight files including variables for use in variance estimation for Urine (DS1002) and Blood (DS1102)
  • 8 Urine Panels (DS1003 to DS1010), 4 Serum Panels (DS1103 to DS1106) and 1 Plasma Panel (DS1201) containing biomarker assay results.

References to the collection of biospecimens will be specified by the collected specimen, i.e., urine and (whole) blood. However, references to biomarker analyses and analytes will be specified by the type of matrix (serum, plasma, or urine) used for the analysis.

United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Tobacco Products. Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Biomarker Restricted-Use Files. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-02-01. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36840.v4

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United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, United States Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Tobacco Products

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Users are reminded that these data are to be used solely for statistical analysis and reporting of aggregated information, and not for the investigation of specific individuals or organizations.

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement. Data are provided via ICPSR's Virtual Data Enclave (VDE). Apply for access to these data through the ICPSR VDE portal. Information and instructions are available within the data portal. For further assistance please reference the VDE Guide to learn about the application process, using the VDE, and how to request disclosure review of VDE output.

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2013 -- 2014 (Wave 1)
2013-09 -- 2014-12 (Wave 1)
  1. The PATH Study Data User Forum allows researchers using the PATH Study data (public-use and restricted-use files) to communicate with each other, including having an opportunity to ask and answer questions. Announcements, data releases and updates, new publications, upcoming events, and other information for PATH Study data users will also be posted to the forum.
  2. Data are provided via ICPSR's Virtual Data Enclave (VDE) where researchers work with data stored on secure ICPSR servers. Researchers cannot possess physical copies of the data; however, upon review by ICPSR, they may request permission to access selected output outside the virtual environment. See the Access Notes to apply for access. Researchers are also encouraged to read the VDE Guide.
  3. The current release contains the restricted-use version of the Wave 1. Wave 2 biomarker data files are planned for release in 2019.

  4. Further information about the biospecimens collected at Wave 1 is available in the PATH Study Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide. Researchers interested in accessing PATH Study biospecimens for biospecimen research should refer to the PATH Study Biospecimen Access Program page. This page provides instructions on applying for access, the schedule for reviewing applications, and frequently asked questions about the program.
  5. The Master Linkage file (DS0001) is also available from the restricted-use questionnaire data.
  6. The data files contain a person-level (PERSONID) variable to link participant IDs across files and across waves of data collection as more waves of biomarker data become available. The values in this variable are random and contain no direct or indirect personally identifiable information. Please review Chapter 5 in the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide for information and programming code on linking files. The files are sorted by the variable PERSONID.
  7. The questionnaires in this collection have been annotated for analytic purposes. Users are advised that most but not all information contained in the questionnaires is duplicated in the question text used in the codebooks. Some of the longer programming instructions were not incorporated into the question text. In these instances, the question text includes a note for the user to read the full programming instructions in the corresponding section of the questionnaire. Derived and imputed variables contain the algorithms used in the creation of these variables. Users are advised to refer to the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide and annotated questionnaires when reviewing the codebooks.
  8. In accordance with the study's informed consent, information is suppressed for individuals who withdraw from the PATH Study. Their information was recoded to a special missing value, designated as -97777.

  9. The PATH Study's documentation is available for your use and may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse or FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. Citation of the source is appreciated.

  10. Additional background information including answers to frequently asked questions can be found in the Researchers section of the PATH Study series page.

  11. The Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide provides an overview of the biomarker collection process. The User Guide also covers such topics as biospecimen collection, subsampling of adults for biomarker analysis, weighting, and programming syntax to run common statistics and link the files. Researchers are encouraged to use the information in the User Guide for their publications, with the following citation:

    • United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Tobacco Products. Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Biomarker Restricted-Use Files, User Guide. ICPSR36840-v3 Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-09-28. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36840.userguide
  12. The data for the PATH Study were collected and prepared by Westat. The contract number under which they performed their work is HHSN271201100027C.

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The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a longitudinal cohort study on tobacco use behavior, attitudes and beliefs, and tobacco-related health outcomes among an estimated 46,000 adults and youth in the United States. The study's primary objectives are to:

  • Objective 1: Identify and explain between-person differences and within-person changes in tobacco-use patterns, including the rate and length of use by specific product type and brand, product/brand switching over time, uptake of new products, and dual- and poly-use of tobacco products (i.e., use of multiple products within the same time period and switching between multiple products).
  • Objective 2: Identify between-person differences and within-person changes in risk perceptions regarding harmful and potentially harmful constituents, new and emerging tobacco products, filters and other design features of tobacco products, packaging, and labeling; and identify other factors that may affect use, such as social influences and individual preferences.
  • Objective 3: Characterize the natural history of tobacco dependence, cessation, and relapse, including readiness and self-efficacy to quit, motivations for quitting, the number and length of quit attempts, and the length of abstinence related to various tobacco products.
  • Objective 4: Update the comprehensive baseline and subsequent waves of data on tobacco-use behaviors and related health conditions, including markers of exposure and tobacco-related disease processes identified from the collection and analysis of biospecimens, to assess between-person differences and within-person changes over time in health conditions potentially related to tobacco use, particularly with use of new and different tobacco products, including modified-risk tobacco products.
  • Objective 5: Assess associations between TCA-specific actions and tobacco-product use, risk perceptions and attitudes, use patterns, cessation outcomes, and tobacco-related intermediate endpoints (e.g., biomarkers of exposure and biomarkers related to disease). Analyses will attempt to account for other potential factors, such as demographics, local tobacco-control policies, and social, familial, and economic factors, that may influence the observed patterns.
  • Objective 6: Assess between-person differences and within-person changes over time in attitudes, behaviors, exposure to tobacco products, and related biomarkers among and within population sub-groups identified by such characteristics as race-ethnicity, gender, and/or age, or by risk factors, such as pregnancy or co-occurring substance use or mental health disorders.
  • Objective 7: To the extent to which sample sizes are sufficient, assess and compare samples of former and never users of tobacco products for between-person differences and within-person changes in relapse and uptake, risk perceptions, and indicators of tobacco exposure and disease processes.
  • Objective 8: Use data from the PATH Study's baseline and follow-up waves on tobacco-use behaviors, attitudes, and related health conditions, including potential markers of exposure and related disease processes identified from the analysis of biospecimens, to screen and subsample respondents for participation in formative and/or nested studies conducted during and after the PATH Study's waves of data and biospecimen collection.

The study used a four-staged stratified sampling design to sample over 150,000 mailing addresses, yielding a Wave 1 (baseline) sample of 45,971 respondents (32,320 adults and 13,651 youth). Tobacco users and non-users, ages 12 years and older and in the civilian non-institutionalized household population were eligible for participation in the PATH Study.

Field interviewers invited each adult respondent to voluntarily provide at least two biospecimens as part of the study. Respondents were invited to "self-collect" a urine sample. Consenting respondents received $25 for providing one or both samples. Adults consenting to provide a blood sample were scheduled for a blood draw appointment with a phlebotomist at the respondent's home. The respondent received $25 for their time during this activity. Specific details about specimen collection and storage are contained in Chapter 2 of the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide.

A four-stage stratified area probability sample design was used in the PATH Study, with a two-phase design for sampling adults at the final stage. At the first stage, a stratified sample of geographical primary sampling units (PSUs) was selected, in which a PSU is a county or group of counties. For the second stage, within each selected PSU, smaller geographical segments were formed and then a sample of these segments was drawn. At the third stage, the sampling frame consisted of the residential addresses located in these segments. The fourth stage selected adults and youth from the sampled households identified at these addresses, with varying sampling rates for adults by age, race, and tobacco use status. Adults were sampled in two phases - Phase 1 sampling used information provided in the household screener and Phase 2 sampling used information provided by the adult in the Phase 2 screener at the beginning of the adult instrument.

A stratified probability subsample of 11,522 adults who completed the Wave 1 adult interview and provided sufficient urine for the planned analyses (independently of whether they provided a blood specimen) was selected from a diverse mix of tobacco product users. 7,159 of these 11,522 adults also provided a blood specimen. All urine and blood specimens provided by these sampled adults were sent for laboratory analysis. Please consult the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide for additional details about the subsampling.

Longitudinal: Panel

Adult (age 18 and older) never, current, and recent former (within 12 months) users of tobacco products in the civilian, non-institutionalized household population of the United States at the time of Wave 1 (September 12, 2013 - December 14, 2014).

individual
Blood Collection: A blood specimen was collected from consenting adults at a separate visit by a phlebotomist who visited the respondent's home at a time scheduled by the field interviewer. The phlebotomist collected six tubes of whole blood by venipuncture. For more information, please see chapter 2 of the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide. Assay Methods: For information on assay methods please see the "Laboratory Procedures" document for each assay panel. Urine Collection: Full-void urine specimens were self-collected by consenting participants in a 500 mL polypropylene container and given to the field interviewers following the completion of the interview. For more information, please see chapter 2 of the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide.

In both the collection files for Urine (DS1001) and Blood (DS1101), data are stored about recent nicotine exposure (NEQs). Specifically, respondents are asked about their use of seven types of tobacco products: cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars (traditional, cigarillos, filtered), pipes, hookah, smokeless tobacco (snus pouches and other forms of smokeless tobacco), and dissolvable tobacco. They are also asked about their use of nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) such as a patch, gum, inhaler, pill, etc., and prescription drugs used for smoking cessation. Each section contains the same basic four questions:

  • When was the product last used?
  • What time of day was the product last used?
  • What amount was used in the past 2 days?
  • Was the product most recently used the same brand mentioned during the original (main) interview? (only asked when the NEQs are given in addition to the main questionnaire - e.g., at blood collection or >4 hours after the main questionnaire)

The Urine (DS1002) and Blood (DS1102) Biomarker Weight files both contain:

  • Complex design variables (stratum and cluster)
  • Overall person weight
  • 100 replicate weights

Each Assay Panel for Urine (DS1003-DS1010), Serum (DS1103-DS1106), and Plasma (DS1201) contains the following information for each analyte included in the panel.

  • Laboratory variables (e.g., date of analysis, run number, etc.)
  • Imputed result value: The result value reported by the lab except results with values below the limit of detection (LOD) which are replaced with the LOD/(sqrt 2)
  • Imputation flag: Designates which result values were below LOD
  • Comment codes/text that provide additional observations about the analyzed sample
  • Additional derived variables may also be included on some panels (e.g., total nicotine equivalents, etc.)

The following lists each chemical compound analyzed within each of the eight panel codebooks.

  • Urine Panel - Speciated Arsenic (AsSpec): Arsenite; Arsenate; Dimethylarsinic Acid; Monomethylarsonic Acid (DS1003)
  • Urine Panel - Enzymatic Urinary Creatinine (CREAU): Creatinine (DS1004)
  • Urine Panel - Metals (Metals): Beryllium; Cadmium; Cobalt; Manganese; Lead; Strontium; Thallium; Uranium (DS1005)
  • Urine Panel - Hydroxy Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH): 1-Hydroxynapthalene (1-Naphthol); 2-Hydroxynapthalene (2-Naphthol); 3-Hydroxyfluorene; 2-Hydroxyfluorene; 1-Hydroxyphenanthrene; 1-Hydroxypyrene; 2-Hydroxyphenaththrene and 3-Hydroxyphenanthrene (DS1006)
  • Urine Panel - Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines (TSNA): N'-Nitrosoanabasine (NAB); N'-Nitrosoanatabine (NAT); 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-Pyridyl)-1-Butanonol (NNAL); N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN) (DS1007)
  • Urine Panel - Urinary Nicotine Metabolites (Cotinine and Hydroxycotinine) (UNICM): Anabasine; Anatabine; Cotinine; Cotinine N-Oxide; Trans-3'-Hydroxycotinine; Norcotinine; Nicotine; Nornicotine; Nicotine 1'-Oxide; Nicotine equivalents (DS1008)
  • Urine Panel - Volatile Organic Compounds Metabolites (VOCM): 2-Methylhippuric Acid; 3-Methylhippuric Acid + 4-Methylhippuric Acid; N-Acetyl-S-(2-Carbamoylethyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(N-Methylcarbamoyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(Benzyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(2-Carboxyethyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(1-Cyano-2-Hydroxyethyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(2-Cyanoethyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(3,4-Dihydroxybutyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(2-Carbamoyl-2-Hydroxyethyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(2-Hydroxypropyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(3-Hydroxypropyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(3-Hydroxypropyl-1-Methyl)-L-Cysteine; N-Acetyl-S-(4-Hydroxy-2-Methyl-2-Buten-1-yl)-L-Cysteine; Mandelic Acid; N-Acetyl-S-(4-Hydroxy-2-Buten-1-yl)-L-Cysteine; Phenylglyoxylic Acid; N-Acetyl-S-(Phenyl)-L-Cysteine; 2-Thioxothiazolidine-4-Carboxylic Acid (DS1009)
  • Urine Panel - Oxidative Stress (F2PG2a) 8-isoprostane (DS1010)
  • Serum Panel - Cotinine and Hydroxycotinine (SCOT): Cotinine; Trans-3'-Hydroxycotinine (DS1103)
  • Serum Panel - High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP): C-reactive Protein (DS1104)
  • Serum Panel - Interleukin 6 (IL6): Interleukin 6 (DS1105)
  • Serum Panel - Soluble Intercellular Adhesion Module (sICAM): Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) (DS1106)
  • Plasma Panel - Fibrinogen Activity (Clauss) (Fibro): Fibrinogen (DS1201)

A total of 32,320 adults completed an interview during Wave 1 of data collection. The collection rate of urine and blood provided by these 32,320 respondents were:

  • Wave 1 urine specimen: 21,801; 67.4 percent
  • Wave 1 blood specimen: 14,520; 44.9 percent

Not all adults who provided a blood sample provided a urine sample, and some adults refused to provide both of the requested specimens. Table 2 in the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide gives a breakdown of the various combinations of samples provided by the 32,320 adult respondents.

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2017-08-08

2019-02-01 Data and documentation for the Wave 1 VOCM urine panel (DS1009) and the master linkage file (DS0001) were updated for the collection.

2018-10-01 2018-09-28 Data and documentation for five panel assays (F2PGa, hsCRP, IL6, siCAM, and Fibro) was added to the collection. Additionally, data and documentation for the master linkage file was updated. The respondent's local time zones were converted to Eastern Time and the variable R01R_A_URINE_LASTURINATION was recalculated. One case was corrected for variable R01R_A_URINE_NEQ_TDIFF.

2018-05-01 The eight panel assay files were updated due to a modification in the derivation algorithm for the variables "R01R_A_XXXX_IMPFLAG". The text for this variable and that of "R01R_A_XXXX_RESULT_IMP" were updated to include a more detailed algorithm.

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and United States Department of Health and Human Services. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Tobacco Products. Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study [United States] Biomarker Restricted-Use Files. ICPSR36840-v4. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-02-01. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36840.v4

2017-08-08 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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There are two files containing weights for use in the analyses of biomarker data that reflect the complex PATH Study sample design. The final full-sample person-level weight for Urine is R0#_A_URINEPWGT and for Blood it is R0#_A_BLOODWGHT. Also, contained in these two files are 100 replicate weights and design variables (VARPSU and VARSTRAT) for use in variance estimation. Detailed information on how these variables were created, and how and why they should be used is provided in the Biomarker Restricted-Use Files User Guide. The weighting procedures adjust for oversampling of population groups and non-response. ICPSR strongly recommends that users read and understand this section before analyzing the data to ensure correct use of these variables.

Due to the subsampling of adults to determine the biospecimens sent for laboratory analysis, using the weights provided with the biomarker data makes the data nationally representative of tobacco users and nonusers in six tobacco product use groups only. These estimates can be described as representative of never, current, and recent former (within 12 months) users of tobacco products in the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized adult population at the time of Wave 1.

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