title: Workers' health risk behaviors by state, demographic characteristics, and health insurance status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Employers often lack data about their workers' health risk behaviors. We analyzed state-level prevalence data among workers for 4 common health risk behaviors: obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, and missed influenza vaccination (among workers older than 50 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed 2007 and 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, restricting the sample to employed respondents aged 18 to 64 years. We stratified health risk behavior prevalence by annual household income, educational attainment, health insurance status, and race/ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For all 4 health risk behaviors, we found significant differences across states and significant disparities related to social determinants of health - income, education, and race/ethnicity. Among uninsured workers, prevalence of smoking was high and influenza vaccinations were lacking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this national survey study, we found that workers' health risk behaviors vary substantially by state and by workers' socioeconomic status, insurance status, and race/ethnicity. Employers and workplace health promotion practitioners can use the prevalence tables presented in this article to inform their workplace health promotion programs.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Peggy A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hannon
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D004651:Employment; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult