NCHS: A Blog of the National Center for Health Statistics
Trends in the Nutrition of Children
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey put out a report on the energy intake for children and aged 2-19 from 1999-2000 through 2009-2010. The report, Trends in Intake of Energy and Macronutrients in Children and adolescents From 1999-2000 Through 2009-2010, highlights trends in energy and macronutrients among U.S. children presented by sex, age group, Read More >
Posted on byFast Food Consumption
As lifestyles become more hectic, fast-food consumption has become a growing part of the American diet. More than one-third of U.S. adults are obese and frequest fast-food consumption has been shown to contribute to weight gain. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) completed a report, Caloric Intake From Fast Food Among Adults: United States, Read More >
Posted on bySTATE VITALS: DELAWARE
Delaware has the 4th highest percentage of births born to unmarried mothers (48.7%) in the nation, lower only than Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico and significantly higher than the total U.S. (40.8%). The state’s low birthweight rate is also higher than the U.S. as a whole (8.4% vs. 8.1%). Among the ten leading causes of Read More >
Posted on byBreaking It Down
Slate and others have raised the question why NCHS chose to release two new contraception reports on Valentine’s Day. The answer is that NCHS always releases its data whenever they’re ready to be published, give or take a day or two depending on the timing of other publications or events. So, releasing these two reports about contraception on Valentine’s Read More >
Posted on byWomen’s Contraception Reports
Two new reports released by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) give insight into the use and methods of contraception among women aged 15-44. The first report, Use of Emergency Contraception Among Women Aged 15-44: United States, 2006-2010, focused on trends and variation in the use of emergency contraception and reasons for use among Read More >
Posted on byDirector’s Corner: The Value of Collaborations
One of the more gratifying aspects of working at NCHS is the extraordinary opportunity to collaborate with researchers across the government. This is well illustrated by the release of two important reports. The first is America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2012. As I say in the press release, the findings in Read More >
Posted on byMobile Examination Centers Measure America’s Health
Thousands of subjects, tens of thousands of miles, and nearly two years after it began, NCHS’s latest journey to map the health of the American public is slowly drawing to a close. In late-January 2013, the mobile examination centers of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) will pause while staff members complete their last interviews and Read More >
Posted on byNew Survey Measures the Fitness of America’s Youth
The NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey (NYFS), conducted as a separate survey alongside the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), is receiving an enthusiastic response from its young participants. For the NYFS team in the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, attaining good response rates is critical to the program’s success. The NYFS, funded Read More >
Posted on byNew Interactive Report
Interactive Health, United States, 2011, In Brief, is a new interactive version of Health, United States, 2011, In Brief . It was developed jointly with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) of the National Institutes of Health. The new interactive report provides text, charts, and tables from Health, United States, 2011. Additional data from the full Health, Read More >
Posted on by2012 National Conference on Health Statistics
More than 1,000 attendees from federal and regional governments, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector converged on the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel August 6–8 for the 2012 National Conference on Health Statistics. Plenary Session Speakers Address Health, Statistical Challenges National leaders in statistics, health research, and health policy shared the stage at Read More >
Posted on byAsk the Expert: Dr. David Huang
[Editor’s note: NCHS is responsible for monitoring and analyzing data for the HHS Healthy People program. In addition, about one-third of the program’s objectives use NCHS-collected data. We spoke with Dr. David Huang of the Office of Analysis and Epidemiology (OAE) about the Healthy People program.] Q. Healthy People 2010: Final Review comes out Read More >
Posted on byIn the News
Consumer Reports Cites NHANES Research in Articles on Arsenic in Food, Juice An in-depth report in the November 2012 issue of Consumer Reports relies extensively on data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The report, “Arsenic in your food,” exposes the presence of arsenic, a potent human carcinogen, in nearly every food product category—particularly rice and rice-based Read More >
Posted on byMilestones and Honors
Long-time DHANES, NHANES Director Retires Mr. Clifford Johnson, Director of the Division of Health Examination Statistics (DHANES) and its flagship program, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), retired from NCHS on November 30, 2012. Mr. Johnson had been with the NHANES program for more than 40 years. Starting as a research analyst, he rose Read More >
Posted on byStats of the States
“STATS OF THE STATES” is a popular feature on the National Center for Health Statistics’ web site that spotlights the latest state-by-state data compiled by NCHS. Stats of the States predominantly consists of vital statistics (Births and Deaths, as well as Marriage & Divorce), but also includes data on miscellaneous topics such as health insurance Read More >
Posted on byConnecting Surveys to Administrative Records: Data Linkage Opens Doors to New Longitudinal Research
A Valuable Resource for Researchers NCHS’s record linkage program is designed to maximize the scientific value of the Center’s population-based surveys. Linked data files enable researchers to take the “long view” and examine the factors that influence disability, chronic disease, health care utilization, morbidity, and mortality. Producing Results Through Collaboration One of NCHS’s major Read More >
Posted on byOn the Path to Understanding Autism
Data Brief 97, “Diagnostic History and Treatment of School-aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Special Health Care Needs,” published in May 2012, is available for download from the NCHS website. A collaborative effort between NCHS, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has provided Read More >
Posted on byNational Leaders in Health Research to Address National Conference on Health Statistics
Three nationally recognized leaders in the fields of health care research, statistics, and policy will deliver keynote addresses to the 2012 National Conference on Health Statistics, held August 6-8, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Conference is a biennial event produced by NCHS. Dr. Harold Luft, of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Read More >
Posted on byAsk the Expert: Dr. Brady Hamilton
Data Brief 89, “Birth Rates for U.S. Teenagers Reach Historic Lows for All Age and Ethnic Groups,” published in April 2012, is available for download from the NCHS website. Birth rates for U.S. teenagers have reached historic lows for all age and ethnic groups, according to a recent NCHS Data Brief. We spoke with Read More >
Posted on byIn the News
The New York Times Looks at Children and Sugar The New York Times highlighted the work of senior epidemiologist Dr. Cynthia L. Ogden and her team in their coverage of children and sugar consumption. The March 19 article, “Added Sugars Pile Up on Children’s Plates,” covers data and findings from Data Brief 87, Consumption of Read More >
Posted on byMilestones and Honors
Dr. Nathaniel Schenker Elected American Statistical Association 2014 President The American Statistical Association (ASA), the world’s largest community of statisticians, has elected NCHS’s Dr. Nathaniel Schenker to serve as ASA’s 109th president. Dr. Schenker will serve as president-elect in 2013 and become president on January 1, 2014. He formerly served as the association’s vice president. Read More >
Posted on byDirector’s Corner: Welcome to Inside NCHS
I celebrated a milestone recently—I have been an employee of the federal government for 35 years. For the last 16 of those years, I have been Director of NCHS. It has been an astonishing tenure, to say the least; full of change, challenge, and progress. A substantial need for timely, accurate data existed when I joined Read More >
Posted on byContraceptive Use and Births in Teens 15-19 Years Old
A recent report has highlighted the use of contraceptive use and births in teenagers 15-19 years old. The data reports that there has been no significant change in the number of never-married teenagers who have had sexual intercourse; the percentages still stand near 43% and 42% for females and males, respectively. However, there was an Read More >
Posted on byAntidepressant Use in Americans 12 and Older
Surprisingly, only a third of the people with severe psychological symptoms actually take antidepressant medication. Despite this fact, antidepressants are still the third most commonly prescribed drug taken by Americans of all ages. From 2005-2008, cholesterol-lowering drugs and analgesics, also known as painkillers, were the top two most prescribed drugs, with antidepressants following closely behind. Read More >
Posted on bySugar Drink Consumption
The consumption of sugar drinks in the United States has increased over the past thirty years. So much, in fact, that some schools and councils have considered taxing these types of beverages and removing them from school cafeterias. However, outlawing such sugar drinks like soda, fruit drinks, and energy drinks, seems unlikely given that approximately 50% Read More >
Posted on byNCHS Director Ed Sondik appears on CSPAN’s Washington Journal 09/02/2011 to discuss U.S. mortality and life expectancy.
See the following link to see Dr. Sondik on CSPAN: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/SMort Read More >
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