TUS data files can be used to assess trends in tobacco control efforts, including both formal workplace and informal home restrictions on smoking; attitudes towards smokefree policies; and the advice of a doctor, dentist, or other health professional to stop smoking.
Because of the large sample size for most survey items, analyses can be done at either the national or state level, and in some cases for areas smaller than the state level. The large sample size also affords the opportunity to study tobacco control heath disparities.
Linkages to Current Population Surveys (CPS) and Supplements
One of the unique aspects of the TUS is its ability to link to other datasets and CPS supplements to enrich analysis and answer other important research questions. Because of the CPS’ panel design, a subset of persons who were in a sample for any given month of TUS-CPS fielding (e.g., July 2014, January 2015, or May 2015) can be linked with other CPS Basic and Supplement data from surveys conducted within about + /-15 months of a TUS-CPS. Datasets that can be linked to the TUS include:
- Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement: Provides data concerning family characteristics, household composition, marital status, education attainment, health insurance coverage, foreign-born population, previous year’s income from all sources, work experience, receipt of noncash benefit, poverty, program participation, and geographic mobility.
- Voting and Registration: Provides demographic information on persons who did and did not register to vote. Also measures number of persons who voted and reasons for not registering.
- Food Security: Provides data that will measure hunger and food security. It provides data on food expenditure, access to food, and food quality and safety.
- Computer and Internet Use: Provides information about household access to computers and the use of the Internet.
- American Time Use Supplement (ATUS): Measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing. The ATUS to the CPS is especially useful for exploring how smokers identified in the TUS-CPS utilize their time as determinants of smoking cessation and tobacco use.
National Longitudinal Mortality Study
The National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS) consists of a database developed for the purpose of studying the effects of demographic and socio-economic characteristics on differentials in U.S. mortality rates. The NLMS is a unique research database in that it is based on a random sample of the non-institutionalized population of the United States. It consists of U.S. Census Bureau data from Current Population Surveys, Annual Social and Economic Supplements and a subset of the 1980 Census combined with death certificate information to identify mortality status and cause of death. The study currently consists of approximately 3.8 million records with over 550,000 identified mortality cases, through 2011. For information on variables and subject matter content, view the NLMS Reference Manual.
Tobacco Longitudinal Mortality Study
The Tobacco Longitudinal Mortality Study (TLMS) is a national longitudinal mortality study focused on tobacco use behaviors. The purpose of the TLMS is to examine the health effects of tobacco use habits and sociodemographic characteristics by differentials in U.S. mortality rates. The TLMS consists of U.S. Census Bureau data from the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) combined with death certificate information identifying mortality status and cause of death. The Tobacco Use Supplement collects information on use of various tobacco products, including emerging tobacco products, and cessation measures. TLMS currently consists of more than 1.6 million records with over 240,000 matched mortality cases, covering the period from September 1985 through July 2018 (26 cohorts total). Mortality information is obtained from death certificates available for deceased persons using the National Death Index (NDI), a database of collected death certificate information for all deceased persons in the United States covering the period from January 1979 through December 2019.
Important TLMS variables available for analyses are standard sociodemographic variables, employment, income, geographic information, and household composition, combined with an extensive list of tobacco use variables and death certificate information, including cause of death. TLMS is sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Center for Health Statistics.
Health Disparities Calculator
HD*Calc is statistical software designed to generate multiple summary measures to evaluate and monitor health disparities. HD*Calc was created as an extension of SEER*Stat that allows the user to import SEER data or other population-based health data, such as National Health Survey sample data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) or the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and calculate any of eleven disparity measures.