1. 1 The Health Behaviors of the Aging US Workers: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 1997-2003 The US workforce is rapidly aging Lifestyle factors & Chronic Disease/Mortality smoking, tobacco, obesity, & lack of exercise Synergism of Life Style & Occupational Factors Meeting NORA Priority Area Fleming LE, Lee D, Caban AJ LeBlanc WG, Chung Bridges K, Christ SL, Arheart K, Pitman T. Dept Epidemiology & Public Health (University of Miami Miller School of Medicine), Odum Research Institute (UNC Chapel Hill, NC)

2. 2 Methods National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Nationally representative 1997-2003 Reported Smoking, Risky Drinking, & Leisure- time Physical Activity Behaviors Older Workers, Younger Workers & Older Non workers Gender, Race, Ethnicity, & Occupation Prototype “Healthy” & “Risky” Workers SUDAAN

3. 3 Results  Estimated 123,052,357 younger workers, 3,917,960 older workers, and 28,879,284 older non-workers annually  Older workers reported less current smoking and risky drinking than younger workers, but not compared to older non workers  Leisure-time physical activity was inadequate in all subpopulations  Variations by gender, race, ethnicity, & occupation among different US worker subpopulations.

4. 4 Results

5. 5 Conclusion/Recommendations 2010 Healthy People Recommendations: tobacco & ethanol use; physical activity in obesity prevention Rapidly aging US worker population, all industries need to evaluate the healthy and risky behaviors of their workforce. Certain occupations, as well as gender-race- ethnic subpopulations of both workers and non workers, can be targeted for age- appropriate behavior prevention interventions.  Thank you / Questions?