American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 51, 897S-901S, Copyright © 1990 by The American Society for Nutrition

The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES 1982-1984): background and introduction

¹ From the Division of Health Examination Statistics, National, Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD

The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) was conducted in 1982-1984 by the National Center for Health Statistics to provide information on the health and nutritional characteristics of the three largest subgroups of Hispanics living in the continental United States. This special survey focused on Mexican Americans living in five Southwestern states (Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California), Cubans living in Dade County, Florida, and Puerto Ricans living in the metropolitan New York City area (selected counties in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). The data collection consisted of a home interview in which information on health histories and sociodemographic characteristics was obtained and a physical examination conducted in a mobile examination center. Multistage area probability sampling was used to identify representative samples of 9445 Mexican Americans, 2125 Cubans, and 3525 Puerto Ricans. Response rates ranged from 79% to 89% for the interview and 61% to 75% for the physical examination within the three Hispanic groups. Nonresponse bias analyses indicate that the interviewed and examined samples are reasonably representative of their target populations. The extensive interview and examination information collected in the survey are useful for a wide range of descriptive, analytical, and policy-oriented analyses.

Key Words: Health survey • nutrition survey • Hispanic