%svy_freqs: A Generic SAS Macro for Creating Publication-Quality Three-Way Cross-Tabulations

Cross-tabulations are a simple but important tool for understanding the distribution of socio-demographic characteristics among participants in epidemiological studies. We developed a generic SAS macro, %svy_freqs, to create publication-quality tables from cross-tabulations between a factor and a by-group variable given a third variable using survey or non-survey data. The macro also performs two-way cross-tabulations and provides extra features not available in existing procedures such as ability to incorporate parameters for survey design and replication-based variance estimation methods, performing validation checks for input parameters, transparently formatting variable values from character into numeric and allowing for generalizability. We demonstrate the macro using the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a complex survey designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States.