title: Chronic Disease Diagnosis as a Teachable Moment for Health Behavior Changes Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.
abstract: To examine the impact of a new chronic disease diagnosis on substance use (i.e., smoking and drinking), utilization of preventive medical procedures, and physical activity among middle-aged and older adults.
  
  
  
  Individual-level data came from 1996 to 2010 waves of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. Disease diagnosis was ascertained from self-reports of physician-diagnosed diseases. A case-control difference-in-differences approach estimated in logistic regression was applied to test study hypotheses.
  
  
  
  After a diagnosis of chronic disease, participants decreased substance use and increased utilization of preventive medical procedures. Physical activity declined after a diagnosis of lung disease, cancer, and stroke.
  
  
  
  Chronic disease diagnosis may be an important teachable moment that can motivate individuals to adopt multiple risk-reducing health behaviors. Future research needs to elucidate the mechanisms through which disease diagnosis affects behaviors and test the modifying effect of time since diagnosis on intervention effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA xiaoling.xiang@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking
keywords: Health and Retirement Study; health behavior; physical activity; teachable moment