National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

• Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm
• This database does not include cancer outcomes.
• This database is not linked to a cancer registry.

Description

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States and is one of the major data collection programs of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The National Health Survey Act of 1956 called for a continuing survey and special studies to collect information on the amount, distribution, and effects of illness and disability in the United States. The National Health Interview Survey was developed in response to the Act and was initiated in July 1957. Since 1960, the survey has been conducted by NCHS, which was formed when the National Health Survey and the National Vital Statistics Division were combined. The NHIS has been conducted continuously since 1957, and the content of the survey has been updated approximately every 10-15 years.

The NHIS monitors trends in illness and disability, including cancer morbidity and mortality and use of some medications. The data are also used to characterize health problems, identify barriers to health care, and evaluate Federal health programs.

Selected References

Freedman AN, Graubard BI, Rao SR, McCaskill-Stevens W, Ballard-Barbash R, Gail MH. Estimates of the number of US women who could benefit from tamoxifen for breast cancer chemoprevention. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003 Apr 2;95(7):526-32.

Etiology

Shoff SM, Newcomb PA. Diabetes, body size, and risk of endometrial cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1998 Aug 1;148(3):234-40.

Lee DJ, Fleming LE, Leblanc WG, Arheart KL, Chung-Bridges K, Christ SL, Caban AJ, Pitman T. Occupation and lung cancer mortality in a nationally representative U.S. Cohort: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). J Occup Environ Med 2006 Aug;48(8):823-32.

Ziegler RG, Subar AF, Craft NE, Ursin G, Patterson BH, Graubard BI. Does beta-carotene explain why reduced cancer risk is associated with vegetable and fruit intake? Cancer Res 1992 Apr 1;52(7 Suppl):2060s-2066s.

Ballard-Barbash R, Schatzkin A, Taylor PR, Kahle LL. Association of change in body mass with breast cancer. Cancer Res 1990 Apr 1;50(7):2152-5.

Population Burden

McMahon PM, Zaslavsky AM, Weinstein MC, Kuntz KM, Weeks JC, Gazelle GS. Estimation of mortality rates for disease simulation models using Bayesian evidence synthesis. Med Decis Making 2006 Sep-Oct;26(5):497-511.

Brackbill RM, Cameron LL, Behrens V. Prevalence of chronic diseases and impairments among US farmers, 1986-1990. Am J Epidemiol 1994 Jun 1;139(11):1055-65. Erratum in: Am J Epidemiol 1994 Dec 1;140(11):1059.

Byrne J, Kessler LG, Devesa SS. The prevalence of cancer among adults in the United States: 1987. Cancer 1992 Apr 15;69(8):2154-9.

Treatment/Survivorship

Hewitt M, Breen N, Devesa S. Cancer prevalence and survivorship issues: analyses of the 1992 National Health Interview Survey. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999 Sep 1;91(17):1480-6.