Policy Impact of NHANES

• Activity Number: 166
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 2, 2010 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Government Statistics
• Author(s): Clifford Leroy Johnson*+ and Vicki L. Burt
• Companies: National Center for Health Statistics and CDC/NCHS
• Keywords: NHANES ; policy impact

Abstract

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) have had a significant impact on public health policy in the United States. Highlights are presented for a number of substantive areas. Body measurements have been used to monitor the obesity epidemic and to construct the CDC Growth Charts. NHANES data have been used to set national policy on food fortification and to establish public health interventions and education programs for cholesterol and hypertension. Addressing these public health issues has been complex from both a scientific and statistical point of view. Examples will show how lab quality control data have been used to assess assay drift and variability and to show the challenge of producing reliable estimates of outer percentiles and proportions given the limited NHANES sample size.