During the past 12 months, Health Promotion Research Section staff have continued to collaborate in the analysis of oral examination data from the first three years of the 1988-1994 Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III - Phase 1). Health Promotion Research Section analyses have focused primarily on key scientific and programmatic issues that bear directly on NIDR's mission to improve the oral health of the U.S. population. Aging issues were addressed through studies of the oral health of the """"""""Baby Boomers,"""""""" as well as through comparative analyses of ten-year birth cohorts in the U.S. using the World War II (1936-1945) Era cohort as the reference cohort for three older and three younger sets of birth cohorts. Women's health issues were clarified by identifying the independent effects of gender on the oral health profiles of U.S. adults net of the effects of other key sociodemographic characteristics. Minority health issues were given focus through major studies of the role of socioeconomic status in explaining racial differences in root caries and racial-ethnic differences in selected restorations and tooth conditions. Economic issues and issues of social inequalities were highlighted through studies of socioeconomic status in relation to the relative frequency of untreated coronal decay and the use of dental sealants. Analyses also clarified poverty differentials in oral health among adults in metropolitan America. The potential impact of educational attainment policy was clarified by studies of educational variations in untreated dental decay across the lifespan. The importance of place was evaluated through the comparative analysis of the oral health profile of central city and suburban metropolitan area residents. The potential for health promotion efforts at various community locations was evaluated through analyses of the oral health profiles of workers in selected industries and occupational groups. The community outreach challenges for dental associations were clarified through comparisons of the oral health profiles of recent dental attendees and non-attendees. Selected methodological analyses also were carried out bearing on non-response bias, measurement aggregation bias and the effect of racial and racial- ethnic classifications on comparative studies of black and white oral health. The results of these NHANES III analyses were presented at the annual meetings of the American Association for Dental Research, the American Statistical Association, the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, and the American Public Health Association.
