title: Behavioral risk factors among members of a health maintenance organization.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Co-occurrence of risk behaviors (RBs) substantially increases the risk of disease. This study examines the co-occurrence of four health risk behaviors (i.e., smoking, high-fat diet, sedentariness, and high-risk drinking) and demographic and psychosocial variables associated with number of RBs in a sample of members of a health maintenance organization who participated in the Seasonal Variation in Cholesterol (Seasons) study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seasons study baseline data were used. Subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire packet containing questions on demographics, smoking history, and leisure-time physical activity, a 7-day dietary recall instrument, and various psychosocial measures. Results presented here are based on 496 subjects with complete data on all RBs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-three percent of participants had > or = two RBs. The most prevalent RB combination was high-fat diet/sedentariness, with 30% of subjects reporting both RBs. Associations between RBs were observed. A greater number of RBs were observed among younger and less-educated subjects, those with higher depression scores, and subjects who perceived their health as poor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings highlight the importance of designing and evaluating primary care-based screening programs and interventions for multiple RBs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA. Milagros.Rosal@umassmed.edu
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rosal
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Ockene
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Merriam
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Ockene
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D002784:Cholesterol