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Show Risk Factors According to the Utah Health Data Committee,1 "lifestyle and behavioral risk factors... are responsible for half or more of all premature deaths of Americans." Risk factors considered here include lifestyle issues and behaviors that impact health status and over which we generally have some control. 1 Utah Department of Health, Utah Health Data Committee (1995) Hospitalizations for Conditions Related to Lifestyle Behaviors, p 2. Salt Lake City: Author. Risk factors covered in this section include behavioral risk factors; alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse; environmental health, and violent crime. Behavioral Risk Factors examine physical activity, overweight status, and seat belt usage. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Substance Abuse compares Utah's drug use to the nation's and considers age differences in this area. New to this edition is an introduction to Environmental Health which highlights the relationship between air quality and health. Behavioral Risk Factors The risk factor data in this subsection come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The BRFSS is a state-based random telephone survey conducted monthly throughout the U.S. of non-institutionalized adults over age 18. Data are reported annually. The survey began in 1984 with a small group of states, including Utah, and has expanded to cover all states, the District of Columbia, and three territories. For the risk factors reported here, Utah's results are compared to U.S. low, median, and high scores. "Low" and "high" scores refer to the states with the lowest and highest scores. "Median" score refers to the state whose score falls in the middle of all states' scores. The scores are given in percentages of persons reporting the indicated behaviors. Based upon the assumption that healthier lifestyles decrease the risk for disease, a lower score for a state means a lower percentage of that state's residents are at risk. Utah's Health: An Annual Review 1996 77 |
