Having information about preexisting chronic diseases and available public health assets is critical to ensuring an adequate public health response to natural disasters and acts of terrorism. We describe a method to derive this information using a combination of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and geographic information systems (GIS) technology. Our demonstration focuse...

BACKGROUND In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Jersey Department of Health used the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (NJBRFS), a state component of the national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to pilot a travel health module designed to collect population-based data on New Jersey residents travelling internationally. Our objective was t...

BACKGROUND Although strong exposure to arsenic has been shown to be carcinogenic, its contribution to lung cancer incidence in the United States is not well characterized. We sought to determine if the low-level exposures to arsenic seen in the U.S. are associated with lung cancer incidence after controlling for possible confounders, and to assess the interaction with smoking behavior. METHOD...

BACKGROUND Oral health is an integral component of general health and well-being. While edentulism has been examined in relation to socioeconomic status, rural residency, chronic disease and mental health, no study that we know of has examined edentulism and these factors together. The objective of this study was to determine whether depression and rural residency were significantly associated ...

Using data from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), we examined households in 13 states (N = 81,012) in which the respondent or another adult household member experienced increased confusion or memory loss (ICML) in the preceding 12 months. A total of 12.6% of households reported at least 1 adult who experienced ICML, and in 5.4% of households all adults experienced ICM...

Smoking prevalence is a principal outcome for evaluating tobacco-control efforts, but prevalence estimates in New Hampshire differed between two surveys conducted during 2002. Smoking prevalence was 17.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 16.3%–19.5%) in the Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS) and 23.2% (95% CI 21.8%–24.5%) in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (absolute percentage point...

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health (SAH) and a binary indicator of obesity were used to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on health and obesity in the predominantly rural Appalachian state of West Virginia. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data together with county specific socioeconomic and built environment indicators were used...

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders among adults with adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Several studies have well documented the protective role of social support against depression in other populations. However, the impact of perceived social and emotional support (PSES) on current depression in a large community sample of adults with ACE has not been studied yet...

Health and Health Behaviors during the Worst of Times: Evidence from the Great Recession While previous studies have shown that recessions are associated with better health outcomes and behaviors, the focus of these studies has been on the relatively milder recessions of the late 20th century. In this paper, we examine if the previously established counter-cyclical pattern in health and heath b...

BACKGROUND Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) has received much attention in recent years. HRQOL indicators have been used to track population trends, identify health disparities, and monitor progress in achieving national health objectives for 2010. Prior studies have examined health risks and HRQOL at the national level as well as at the state level. This paper examines multiple indicator...