American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on October 31, 2007
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 167(1):15-19; doi:10.1093/aje/kwm313
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PRACTICE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY |
Declining Estimated Prevalence of Alcohol Drinking and Smoking among Young Adults Nationally: Artifacts of Sample Undercoverage?
From the Department of Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
Correspondence to Dr. Cristine Delnevo, Department of Health Education and Behavioral Sciences, UMDNJ–School of Public Health, 317 George Street, Suite 209, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (e-mail: delnevo{at}umdnj.edu).
Received for publication December 6, 2006. Accepted for publication June 26, 2007.
A growing concern in public health surveillance surveys that rely on random digit dialing for sampling is the exclusion of adults in cell-phone-only households. The purpose of this study was to examine whether recent increases in wireless substitution have affected estimates of tobacco and alcohol use in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in a subpopulation with notable cell-phone usage (i.e., young adults). BRFSS data from 2001–2005 were examined. Analyses were limited to participants aged 18–24 years, and the sample contained approximately 18,500 persons in each year. Prevalence estimates were generated with SUDAAN software for three health behaviors: cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and heavy alcohol consumption. In addition, the authors examined sample completeness for young adults relative to US Census estimates. Overall, prevalences of all three health behaviors among young adults were fairly stable between 2001 and 2003 but significantly decreased between 2003 and 2005. These trends are not replicated in national surveys that use area probability samples. The authors found a declining trend in the sample completeness ratio for young adults; it declined from 0.32 in 2001 to 0.15 in 2005. Given the high prevalence of wireless substitution among young adults and the declining sample completeness ratio, the authors suspect that the observed decreases in prevalence are artifacts of undercoverage.
adult; alcohol drinking; cellular phone; data collection; research design; sampling studies; smoking; telephone
Abbreviations: BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; RDD, random digit dialing
Editor's note: An invited commentary on this article appears on page 20, and the authors' response appears on page 23.
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Related articles in Am. J. Epidemiol.:
- Invited Commentary: Topical Threats to Epidemiology
- Kate M. Dunn
Am. J. Epidemiol. 2008 167: 20-22.[Abstract] [Full Text] - Delnevo et al. Respond to "Topical Threats to Epidemiology"
- Cristine D. Delnevo, Daniel A. Gundersen, and Brett T. Hagman
Am. J. Epidemiol. 2008 167: 23-24.[Extract] [Full Text]
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