BACKGROUND The primary route of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), a known developmental neurotoxicant, is from ingestion of seafood. Since 2004, women of reproductive age in the U.S. have been urged to eat fish and shellfish as part of a healthy diet while selecting species that contain lower levels MeHg. Yet few studies have examined trends in MeHg exposure and fish consumption over time in th...

BACKGROUND A substantial proportion of US adults hold fatalistic beliefs about cancer prevention. Although evidence suggests that fatalistic beliefs discourage people from engaging in screening behaviors that can reduce their cancer risk, far less is known about associations between cancer fatalism and other prevention behaviors. We examined sociodemographic correlates of these beliefs and thei...

BACKGROUND Because excessive dietary sodium intake is a major contributor to hypertension, a reduction in dietary sodium has been recommended for the US population. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010 data, we estimated current sodium intake in US population ethnic subgroups and modeled the potential impact of a new sodium reduction technology on sodium...

OBJECTIVES This report highlights selected health characteristics of four age groups of older adults-55-64 years, 65-74 years, 75-84 years, and 85 years and over-using data from the 2004 through 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Data are presented for each of these age groups by sex, race and Hispanic origin, and by poverty, health insurance, and marital status. METHODS The estima...

It has recently been reported that a low intake of calcium may be a risk factor for hypertension. In view of the contradictory results, even when the same survey data base has been used by different researchers, an in-depth analysis was undertaken of the data provided by the two cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Both surveys, conducted in consecutive 4-yea...

We describe and compare the growth of three groups of juveniles, aged 0-18, who experience different degrees of market integration and acculturation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. These include 1,384 indigenous Shuar from the Upano Valley of Ecuador and surrounding areas, 570 nonindigenous colono (or colonist) children from the same area, and 42 Shiwiar from the interior of Ecuador. We use differenc...

Objective Examine the relationship between depression symptoms and sinonasal inflammatory diseases, and investigate health disparities associated with allergic rhinitis (AR) and sinusitis in the United States. Study Design Cross-sectional analysis of 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data. Methods Adult cases of AR and sinusitis were extracted from the 2014 NHIS in addition to de...

Epilepsy is a neurologic disorder that negatively affects the quality of life for millions of persons in the United States; however, nationally representative U.S. estimates of the prevalence of epilepsy are scant. To determine epilepsy prevalence among adults, assess their access to care, and provide baseline estimates for a Healthy People 2020 objective ("Increase the proportion of persons wi...

OBJECTIVES This investigation describes terrorism preparedness among U.S. office-based physicians and their staffs in identification and diagnosis of terrorism-related conditions, training methods and sources, and assistance with diagnosis and reporting. METHODS The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) is an annual national probability survey of approximately 3,000 U.S. nonfederal,...