OBJECTIVE State-level estimates of obesity based on self-reported height and weight suggest a geographic pattern of greater obesity in the Southeastern US; however, the reliability of the ranking among these estimates assumes errors in self-reporting of height and weight are unrelated to geographic region. DESIGN AND METHODS Regional and state-level prevalence of obesity (body mass index ≥ 30...

We used self-reported data from United Methodist clergy to assess the prevalence of obesity and having ever been told certain chronic disease diagnoses. Of all actively serving United Methodist clergy in North Carolina (NC) 95% (n = 1726) completed self-report height and weight items and diagnosis questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). We calculated BMI categorie...

Arthritis is among the most common chronic conditions among veterans and is more prevalent among veterans than nonveterans. Contemporary population-based estimates of arthritis prevalence among veterans are needed because previous population-based studies predate the Persian Gulf War, were small, or studied men only despite the fact that women comprise an increasing proportion of military perso...

Sexual violence (SV) is a significant public health problem. Using data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), this article provides state-specific 12-month SV prevalence data for women residing in 23 states and two territories. Overall, more than 500,000 women in the participating states experienced completed or attempted nonconsensual sex in the 12-month period prio...

Rural populations in the United States have well documented health disparities, including higher prevalences of chronic health conditions (1,2). Doctor-diagnosed arthritis is one of the most prevalent health conditions (22.7%) in the United States, affecting approximately 54.4 million adults (3). The impact of arthritis is considerable: an estimated 23.7 million adults have arthritis-attributab...

This report describes surveillance systems used for assessing influenza vaccination coverage among pregnant women in the United States. Coverage estimates and factors associated with maternal vaccination are reviewed for internet panel surveys of pregnant women and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS); new estimates are reported from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Sy...

lute rates of adverse behaviors were low, such as HIV risk behaviors, most Americans adhere to public health recommendations, and the lack of difference between HCWs and other Americans is reassuring. Perhaps most surprisingly, female HCWs older than 50 years were less likely to adhere to the guidelines of having a mammogram within the past 2 years. Other studies have also observed this paradox...

OBJECTIVE Reported associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity are inconsistent depending on gender and geographic location. Globally, these inconsistent observations may hide a variation in the contextual effect on individuals' risk of obesity for subgroups of the population. This study explored the regional variability in the association between SES and BMI in the USA and in C...

This study examines the association between state and county unemployment rates and individuals' body weight status during the latest recession in the U.S. We used the U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data in 2007, 2009 and 2011, which were collected from 722,692 American adults aged 18 or older. Overweight and obesity were defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥25, and ≥30, r...

Work-related asthma (WRA) is a preventable occupational disease associated with serious adverse health outcomes. Using the 2006-2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Adult Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS) data from 38 states and the District of Columbia, CDC estimated that among ever-employed adults with current asthma, the proportion of current asthma that is work-related was 9...