%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.