Eating Away from Home and Risk of All-cause Mortality

Eating Away from Home and Subsequent Risk of All-cause Mortality in the US Population

The proposed study will test the hypothesis that frequency of eating away from home meals is independently related to the prospective risk of mortality in the US population. The study will use public-domain mortality linked data from US national Surveys to address this question.

This study uses public domain data collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) conducted in 1999-2000, 2001-2002, and 2003-2004 by the National Center for Health Statistics. Data on frequency of eating restaurant meals were collected at that time. The surveys have been linked to the National Death Index and mortality status information is available in public-release files. The investigators aim to examine if exposure to restaurant meals at baseline is prospectively linked to the risk of mortality. All data are anonymized and available in the public domain.

Inclusion Criteria:

• National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1999-2004, respondent
• Aged 40 or older at baseline

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant or lactating
• No mobile examination center exam
• No exposure information
• No National Death Index linkage
• No followup time