The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a
survey research
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
program conducted by the
National Center for Health Statistics
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health of the American people. It is a unit of the Centers for Disease Control ...
(NCHS) to assess the
health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
and
nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
al status of adults and children in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and to track changes over time. The survey combines
interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...
s,
physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, clinical examination, or medical checkup, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a Disease, medical condition. It generally consists of a series of ...
s and laboratory tests.
The NHANES interview includes
demographic
Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration.
Demographic analy ...
,
socioeconomic
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
dietary
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism.
The word diet often implies the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons (with the two often being related). Although humans are ...
, and health-related questions. The examination component consists of medical,
dental, and
physiological
Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
measurements, as well as laboratory tests administered by medical personnel.
The National Health Survey Act was passed in 1956. This allowed legislative authorization to provide current statistical data on the amount, distribution, and effects on illness and disability in the United States.
The first three national health examination surveys were conducted in the 1960s:
# 1960-62—National Health Examination Survey I (NHES I);
# 1963-65—National Health Examination Survey II (NHES II); and
# 1966-70—National Health Examination Survey III (NHES III).
The first NHANES was conducted in 1971, and in 1999 the surveys became an annual event; the first report on the topic was published in 2001.
NHANES findings are used to determine the prevalence of major diseases and
risk factor
In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection.
Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often use ...
s for diseases. Information is used to assess nutritional status and its association with
health promotion
Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, the "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health."
Scope
The WHO's 1986 Ottawa Charter for ...
and
disease prevention
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
. NHANES findings are also the basis for national standards for such measurements as
height
Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For an example of vertical extent, "This basketball player is 7 foot 1 inches in height." For an e ...
,
weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition.
Some sta ...
, and
blood pressure
Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of Circulatory system, circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term ...
. NHANES data are used in
epidemiological
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...
studies and
health science
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences:
Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple ...
s research (including
biomarkers of aging), which help develop sound public
health policy
Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(archived 5 February 2011) According ...
, direct and design health programs and services, expand health knowledge, extend
healthspan and
lifespan.
Follow-up studies using NHANES data were made possible by creating linked mortality files and files based on Medicare and Medicaid data.
See also
*
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
References
External links
Official website*
page for NHANES 1999-2000
DSDR page for NHANES 2001-2002
DSDR page for NHANES 2003-2004
DSDR page for NHANES 2005-2006
DSDR page for NHANES 2007-2008
* Validity of U.S. Nutritional Surveillance: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Caloric Energy Intake Data, 1971–201
{{Social surveys
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Gerontology
Health surveys