Behavioral Risk-Factor Surveillance in Selected States -- 1985
The behavioral risk-factor surveillance system (BRFSS) operated
for its second year in 1985. BRFSS data were collected from adults
in
21 states and the District of Columbia by monthly telephone
interviews
with use of random-digit-dialing techniques. The interviews were
conducted with a standard questionnaire and procedures developed
jointly by the state health departments and CDC. The risk factors
assessed included self-reported overweight, sedentary lifestyle,
uncontrolled hypertension, cigarette smoking, alcohol misuse, and
seatbelt nonuse for persons 18 years of age and older (Tables 1 and
2). The results presented here are weighted to take into account
the
age, race, and sex distribution of adults in each state, as well as
the respondents' probability of selection, and are therefore
representative of the adult populations of the participating
states.
The data allow state health departments to compare the
prevalence
of risk behaviors associated with the 10 leading causes of
premature
death among adults in their states with similar data for adults in
other participating states. These data will be used to monitor
trends
and to help assess the effectiveness of statewide programs to
reduce
the prevalence of these behaviors.
Between 1984 (1) and 1985, all 15 states in which data were
collected for both years showed some increase in the prevalence of
seatbelt use. Three of these states (Ohio, North Carolina, and
Illinois) reported substantial increases of between 10.4% and
18.6%.
Other possible trends between 1984 and 1985 occurred in
drinking
and driving. In 14 of the 15 states, the prevalence of those
admitting to driving "after having, perhaps, too much to drink"
decreased, while the prevalence in one state (South Carolina)
increased slightly. In 12 of 15 states, decreases were reported in
binge drinking, defined as having five or more alcoholic drinks on
one
occasion during the previous month, while increases were reported
in
three states (Indiana, Utah, and West Virginia).
Reported by R Brooks, Office of Health Education, Arizona Dept of
Health Svcs; F Capell, Health Education-Risk Reduction Program,
California Dept of Health Svcs; S Benn, Chronic Disease Control
Section, Connecticut State Dept of Health Svcs; R Conn, EdD,
Preventive Health Svcs Administration, District of Columbia Dept of
Human Svcs; WW Mahoney, Health Promotion Program, Florida Dept of
Health and Rehabilitative Svcs; JD Smith, Div of Public Health,
Georgia Dept of Human Resources; JV Patterson, Health Education
Section, Bureau of Preventative Medicine, Idaho Dept of Health and
Welfare; D Patterson, Div of Education and Information, Illinois
Dept
of Public Health; S Jain, Div of Health Education, Indiana State
Board
of Health; K Bramblett, Dept of Health Svcs, Kentucky Cabinet for
Human Resources; N Salem, PhD, Minnesota Center for Health
Statistics;
R Moon, Health Education and Promotion Program, Montana Dept of
Health
and Environmental Sciences; T Gerber, Bureau of Adult and
Gerontological Health, New York State Dept of Health; R Staton,
Health
Promotion Br, Div of Health Svcs, North Carolina Dept of Human
Resources; B Lee, Div of Research, Information and Support, North
Dakota State Dept of Health; E Capwell, Ohio Dept of Health, Bureau
of
Preventive Medicine; Janice Cataldo, Div of Health Promotion, Rhode
Island Dept of Health; FC Wheeler, Div of Chronic Disease, South
Carolina Dept of Health and Environmental Control; J Fortune, Div
of
Health Promotion, Tennessee Dept of Health and Environment; GV
Lindsay, Bureau of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction, Div of
Community Health Svcs, Utah Dept of Health; R Anderson, Health
Education Dept, West Virginia Dept of Health; DR Murray, Wisconsin
Center for Health Statistics; Div of Nutrition, Center for Health
Promotion and Education, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: Although some participating states reported
certain
differences in rates of behavorial risk factors for 1984 and 1985,
it
is too early, after only 2 years of data collection, to positively
identify these differences as trends. With continued data
collection,
long-term changes in patterns of behavorial risk factors should be
recognized. For example, since 1984, 26 states have attempted to
decrease mortality resulting from motor vehicle accidents among
their
residents by passing a variety of laws mandating the use of
seatbelts. It may be significant that in two of the three states
with
the largest increase in self-reported rates of seatbelt use
(Illinois
and North Carolina), mandatory seatbelt laws became effective in
1985. The BRFSS promises to be an excellent mechanism for
monitoring
seatbelt use in states with such laws.
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