Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States despite dramatic improvements in the treatment of heart disease in recent years. Kentucky leads the nation in the prevalence of several individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the prevalence of multiple risk factors, and in cardiovascular mortality. While trends in the prevalence of some of these cardiac...

To provide information about the effects of increased confusion or memory loss (ICML) in households in the United States, we describe primary respondents' reports (proxy reports) about another person in their household experiencing ICML, using 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. We used proxy reports on type of assistance needed, effects on functioning in daily activit...

OBJECTIVES To compare the self-reported prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) between Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and Whites in the United States. METHODS We analyzed data from 70,209 adults aged > or =18 years with diabetes derived from the 2006-2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), including 1,499 AAPIs and 68,710 White individuals. RESULTS Compared with...

The 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey was administered to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults in Nevada to determine whether health disparities exist between AI/ANs and the state’s general population. Results showed AI/ANs were 1.5 times more likely to smoke cigarettes, 3.5 times more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke, 3.2 times more likely to lack l...

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study of oral health disparities in Appalachia was to use existing data sources to geographically analyze suspected disparities in oral health status in the 420 counties of Appalachia, and to make sub-state comparisons within Appalachia and to the rest of the nation. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the methods used to overcome challenges associated w...

INTRODUCTION To plan, implement, and evaluate programs designed to improve health conditions among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States, public health officials and researchers require valid and reliable health surveillance data. Monitoring chronic disease and behavioral risk factors among such populations, however, is challenging. This study assesses the effects of race,...

Current reported incidence rates for ovarian cancer may significantly underestimate the true rate because of the inclusion of women in the calculations who are not at risk for ovarian cancer due to prior benign salpingo-oophorectomy (SO). We have considered prior SO to more realistically estimate risk for ovarian cancer. Kentucky Health Claims Data, International Classification of Disease 9 (IC...

Methods Data from the 2009 Delaware Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were analyzed in the current study. Potential risk and protective factors for arthritis status and severity examined in this study included: smoking status, alcohol consumption, weight status, and physical activity level. Weighted percentages were calculated for the risk and protective factors by arthritis st...

OBJECTIVES Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the USA. Reducing the population-level burden of CVD disease will require a better understanding and support of cardiovascular health (CVH) in individuals and entire communities. The objectives for this study were to examine associations between community-level healthcare resources (HCrRes) and CVH in individuals and ...

Hypertension is an important and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Over the last decade, national-levels of controlled hypertension have increased, but little information on hypertension prevalence and trends in hypertension treatment and control exists at the county-level. We estimate trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in US c...