National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes)

The National Health Survey Act, passed in 1956, provided the legislative authorization for a continuing survey to provide current statistical data on the amount, distribution, and effects of illness and disability in the United States. To fulfill the purposes of this act, it was recognized that a data collection effort needed to be implemented that would involve at least three sources: (1) the people themselves by direct interview; (2) clinical tests, measurements, and physical examinations on sample persons; and (3) places where persons received medical care such as hospitals, clinics, and doctors offices. The NHANES surveys were created to fulfill this information need. They are unique in that interview and physical examination data are obtained from national samples of the U.S. population. The examination component is conducted in mobile examination centers (MECs) that travel to fifteen survey locations per year. NHANES data have been the cornerstone for numerous national health and nutrition policy and surveillance activities. To comply with the 1956 act, between 1960 and 2004, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, conducted seven separate examination surveys to collect interview and physical examination data. In 1999, NHANES became a continuous survey with year round data collection.