BACKGROUND The current study describes concurrent use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (CiST) among males and females and evaluates factors associated with CiST use. METHODS Cross-sectional data were drawn from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Weighted stratified analyses were performed to find associations between CiST use and sociodemographic factors by gender...

BACKGROUND Tobacco use rates are exceptionally high among indigenous people in North America. Alaska Native, low socio-economic status (SES) and rural communities are high-priority populations for Alaska's Tobacco Control program. DESIGN For the purpose of better informing tobacco control interventions, we conducted a descriptive study to describe high-priority groups using prevalence-based a...

Hypertension, which affects nearly one third of adults in the United States, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke (1), and only approximately half of those with hypertension have their hypertension under control (2). The prevalence of hypertension is highest among non-Hispanic blacks, whereas the prevalence of antihypertensive medication use is lowest among Hispanics (1). Geograp...

Study objectives: Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important surveillance measure for monitoring the health of populations, as proposed in the American public health plan, Healthy People 2010. The authors investigated the retest reliability of four HRQoL questions from the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Design: Randomly sampled BRFSS respondents from the stat...

Recent global (1) and national (2,3) health equity initiatives conclude that the elimination of health disparities requires improved understanding of social context (4,5) and ability to measure social determinants of health, including food and housing security (3). Food and housing security reflect the availability of and access to essential resources needed to lead a healthy life. The 2013 Beh...

BACKGROUND The critical importance of improving the well-being of people with disabilities is highlighted in many national health plans. Self-reported health status is reduced both with age and among people with disabilities. Because both factors are related to health status and the influence of the age at disability onset on health status is unclear, we examined the relationship between disabi...

BACKGROUND The epidemic of diabetes continues leaving an enormous and growing burden of chronic disease to public health. This study investigates this growing burden of diabetes independent of increasing BMI in a large population based female sample, 2006-2010. METHODS Serial cross-sectional data using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2006-2010 surveys from 1,168,418 wom...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as threatened, attempted, or completed physical or sexual violence or emotional abuse by a current or former intimate partner. IPV can be committed by a spouse, an ex-spouse, a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, or a dating partner. Each year, IPV results in an estimated 1,200 deaths and 2 million injuries among women and nearly 600,000 injurie...

In 2008, mortality from stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, and stroke was a leading cause of long-term severe disability. Nearly half of older stroke survivors experience moderate to severe disability. Care for stroke survivors cost an estimated $18.8 billion in the United States during 2008, and lost productivity and premature mortality cost an additional $15.5 ...

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Hispanic ethnic concentration is associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and, if this relationship exists, whether it is affected by the socioeconomic environment. The study uses the Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) linked to 2000 census data to access the relationship between prevalence of obesity, Hispanic ethnic...