NCHS Dataline

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new report with detailed data on the health of non-Hispanic Asians living in the United States, made possible by oversampling that group in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Planning is underway for the 2014 National Conference on Health Statistics, the biennial conference sponsored by NCHS to bring together users of NCHS data to learn about new NCHS data resources and hear from researchers who have performed innovative analyses with NCHS files. The latest comprehensive summary report on the health of U.S. adults based on data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) has also been released. Finally, a new report describes trends in primary cesarean delivery rates from 2006 through 2012 for areas that implemented the 2003 U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth.

NEW REPORT ON THE HEALTH OF ASIAN ADULTS

The 2011–2013 NHANES cycle oversampled the non-Hispanic Asian (hereafter, Asian) population living in the U.S. to produce some of the first information available on the health of this fast-growing population. NHANES collects data on a sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population through health interviews, standardized physical examinations, and laboratory testing. Previously, NHANES had modified its sample to produce more data on Hispanic and African American people. According to the latest NHANES cycle results, Asians now comprise 5% of the U.S. population, an increase of about 40% during the past decade.

“Hypertension, Abnormal Cholesterol, and High Body Mass Index Among Non-Hispanic Asian Adults: United States, 2011–2012,”¹ the first report with NHANES data on Asian adults aged 20 years and older, covers the prevalence of hypertension, abnormal cholesterol levels, and high body mass index (BMI), presenting the estimates by age, gender, education, and foreign-born status. The majority of Asian adults (84.5%) in the U.S. are foreign-born. The Asian population includes many ethnic groups, and the estimates in this report are for Asian people overall; therefore, they may not reflect patterns for specific subgroups of Asian people.

Key findings in the report show that one-quarter (25.6%) of Asian adults had hypertension (defined as having blood pressure $140/90 millimeters of mercury or taking medication to lower blood pressure) during 2011–2012. There was no difference in the prevalence of hypertension by gender, but prevalence increased with age: 5.0% for those aged 20–39 years, 26.5% for those aged 40–59 years, and 59.6% for those aged $60 years. Hypertension was lower among those with more than a high school education (22.8%) than among those with #high school education (31.9%). The prevalence of hypertension did not differ significantly by foreign-born status. Approximately one in 10 Asian adults had high total cholesterol, and there were no significant differences in prevalence by age, gender, education, or foreign-born status. Slightly more than 14% of Asian adults had low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The prevalence of low HDL cholesterol was five times higher in men than in women (24.5% vs. 5.1%). Foreign-born adults were twice as likely as U.S.-born adults to have low HDL cholesterol (15.4% vs. 7.7%). The prevalence of low HDL cholesterol did not differ significantly by age or education. Fewer than 40% of Asian adults had a BMI .25 kilograms per square meter. Adult men had a higher prevalence of high BMI than adult women (43.0% vs. 34.7%). The prevalence of high BMI increased with age; for example, adults aged 40–59 years and $60 years had a prevalence almost 1.5 times higher than those aged 20–39 years. The prevalence of high BMI did not differ significantly by education or foreign-born status.

2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH STATISTICS

Planning is underway for the 2014 National Conference on Health Statistics. The conference will include a one-day Learning Institute consisting of hands-on and lecture formats. Participants will receive hands-on training in accessing and analyzing survey data and explore learning modules on how to use selected data access tools. The Learning Institute will be followed by the two-day main conference, featuring the latest developments at NCHS and presentations from some of the nation's leaders in the fields of health, health data, and statistics. A poster session during the conference will offer a venue for researchers from academia, industry, and government agencies to present original research on health and health statistics and provide a forum for informal discussion with interested colleagues.

The 2014 conference will be held in the Washington, D.C., area in late summer. The location and date are forthcoming and will be posted along with additional information on the conference sessions and agenda on the conference website, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/events/2014nchs/index.htm. There is no charge for the conference and those who wish to attend can register to do so on that website as well.

LATEST NHIS SUMMARY REPORT ON HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS

The latest comprehensive report on general health characteristic of adults based on data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey is now available. “Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012”² presents detailed tables on a wide range of health characteristics for the civilian, noninstitutionalized adult population, classified by gender, age, race and Hispanic origin, education, current employment status, family income, poverty status, health insurance coverage, marital status, and place and region of residence. The report includes estimates of the prevalence of selected chronic conditions and mental health characteristics, functional limitations, health status and health behaviors, health-care access and use, and human immunodeficiency virus testing. Percentages and percent distributions are presented in both age-adjusted and unadjusted versions.

The report shows that in 2012, 61% of adults $18 years of age had excellent or very good health. Eleven percent of adults had been told by a doctor or other health professional that they had heart disease, 24% had been told on two or more visits to the doctor that they had hypertension, 9% had been told that they had diabetes, and 21% had been told that they had some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia. Eighteen percent of adults were current smokers and 21% were former smokers. Based on estimates of BMI, 35% of adults were overweight and 28% were obese.

PRIMARY CESAREAN DELIVERY RATES

The “Nation at a Glance” feature on the NCHS website highlights state-specific health data on timely topics of interest. In the current issue, data from a new report, “Primary Cesarean Delivery Rates, by State: Results from the Revised Birth Certificate, 2006–2012,”³ are presented. The report describes trends in primary cesarean delivery rates from 2006 through 2012 for reporting areas that implemented the 2003 U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth by January 1, 2006, and from 2009 through 2012 for reporting areas that implemented the 2003 revision by January 1, 2009. This interactive feature allows users to click on individual states and see data for the three reporting periods. The primary cesarean delivery rate for the 2012 revised reporting area (38 states, District of Columbia, and New York City) was 21.5%. That is, more than one in five births to women without a previous cesarean delivery were delivered by cesarean. Primary cesarean delivery rates varied by state, from 12.5% in Utah to 26.9% in Florida and Louisiana.