Contributions of a local health examination survey to the surveillance of chronic and infectious diseases in New York City.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to evaluate the contribution of the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NYC-HANES) to local public health surveillance.


METHODS
Examination-diagnosed estimates of key health conditions from the 2004 NYC-HANES were compared with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004 national estimates. Findings were also compared with self-reported estimates from the Community Health Survey (CHS), an annually conducted local telephone survey.


RESULTS
NYC-HANES estimated that among NYC adults, 25.6% had hypertension, 25.4% had hypercholesterolemia, 12.5% had diabetes, and 25.6% were obese. Compared with US adults, NYC residents had less hypertension and obesity but more herpes simplex 2 and environmental exposures (P<.05). Obesity was higher and hypertension was lower than CHS self-report estimates (P<.05). NYC-HANES and CHS self-reported diabetes estimates were similar (9.7% vs 8.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
NYC-HANES and national estimates differed for key chronic, infectious, and environmental indicators, suggesting the need for local data. Examination surveys may provide more accurate information for underreported conditions than local telephone surveys. Community-level health and nutrition examination surveys complement existing data, providing critical information for targeting local interventions.
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W 168th St, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10032, USA. crg2128@columbia.edu
R Charon
RC
Gwynn
Renu K
RK
Garg
Bonnie D
BD
Kerker
Thomas R
TR
Frieden
Lorna E
LE
Thorpe
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance