Presidential promotion of health-related behaviors through words and example.

This article addresses a topic that is part of the public consciousness yet is seldom explored in the public health literature: presidential promotion of health-related behaviors through words and example. The article explores the history of what some American presidents, as individuals, have conveyed to the population about health through their own actions (presidential modeling of health behavior) and words. The nature of such messages and how they are received has changed with advances in technology and will likely continue to evolve.

Mental illness surveillance among adults in the United States.

Mental illnesses account for a larger proportion of disability in developed countries than any other group of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. In 2004, an estimated 25% of adults in the United States reported having a mental illness in the previous year. The economic cost of mental illness in the United States is substantial, approximately $300 billion in 2002.

Evaluating mental health after the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

Mental health is an important aspect of public health after a disaster. This article describes what is known and what remains to be learned regarding the mental health impact of the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti. Public health surveillance efforts in Haiti and the United States in the first 2 months after the earthquake are described.

Achieving recognition that mental health is part of the mission of CDC.

For much of its history the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considered mental health to be outside of its mission.

Mental health disparities.

Mental health disparities have received increased attention in the literature in recent years. After considering 165 different health disparity conditions, the Federal Collaborative for Health Disparities Research chose mental health disparity as one of four topics warranting its immediate national research attention. In this essay, we describe the challenges and opportunities encountered in developing a research agenda to address mental health disparities in the United States.

Geographic patterns of frequent mental distress: U.S. adults, 1993-2001 and 2003-2006.

Background: Mental illnesses and other mental health problems often lead to prolonged, disabling, and costly mental distress. Yet little is known about the geographic distribution of such mental distress in the U.S.

Psychological distress and mental health treatment among persons with and without active duty military experience, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2007.

Objectives: To examine self-reported psychological distress (K-6 scale) and mental health treatment among persons with and without active duty U.S. military experience (ADME) currently residing in private residences in the U.

Trends in psychotropic medication use among U.S. adults.

Purpose: To examine trends and prevalence of prescription psychotropic medication use among noninstitutionalized US adults.

Methods: Prescription medication data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; 1988-1994; n = 20 050) and the 1999-2002 NHANES (n = 12 060), two nationally representative cross-sectional health examination surveys, were examined for persons aged > or =17 years.

Results: The age-adjusted prevalence of psychotropic medication use increased from 6.

A Preliminary analysis of medical expenditures among active and sedentary US adults with mental disorders.

Objective: To determine whether leisure-time physical activity is associated with lower direct annual medical expenditures among a sample of adults with mental disorders.

Methods: Using the 1995 National Health Interview Survey and 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, differences between medical expenditures for sedentary and active persons were analyzed using t-tests.

Results: The per capita annual direct medical expenditure was US 2785 dollars higher for sedentary than for active persons (P<0.

Sad, blue, or depressed days, health behaviors and health-related quality of life, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1995-2000.

Background: Mood disorders are a major public health problem in the United States as well as globally. Less information exists however, about the health burden resulting from subsyndromal levels of depressive symptomatology, such as feeling sad, blue or depressed, among the general U.S.

Prescription psychotropic medication use among the U.S. adult population: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994.

Objective: We estimated prescription psychotropic medication use among US adults.

Methods: We examined household interview data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994) for persons 17 years and older (n=20,050).

Study Design And Setting: An estimated 10 million adults (5.

Implementing program evaluation and accountability for population health: progress of a national diabetes control effort.

Diabetes affects some 16 million Americans at a cost estimated at $100 billion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds a diabetes control program (DCP) in every state as part of the National Diabetes Control Program (NDCP). In 1999, a new policy added emphasis on evaluation and made NDCP and its DCPs accountable for achieving impacts related to the health of populations with diabetes.