Epidemiology

Topic

√ NY Agencies

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)

The DOHMH is the primary agency responsible for protecting and promoting the health of New Yorkers. Its Bureau of Communicable Disease is responsible for monitoring and controlling the spread of infectious diseases, including epidemiological investigations and surveillance. Mayor’s Management Report

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

The DEP works to protect and enhance the quality of New York City’s air, water, and natural resources. It has an Office of Research and Development, which conducts research and provides technical support to other city agencies, including epidemiological studies of environmental exposures. Mayor’s Management Report

New York City Housing Authority

The authority offers diabetes management and education services to residents living in public housing. Mayor’s Management Report

New York City Department of Education (DOE)

The DOE oversees the city’s public schools. It has a Office of School Health, which provides health services to students and conducts epidemiological surveillance of communicable diseases in schools. Mayor’s Management Report

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The CDC is a federal agency that works to protect public health. They have a number of offices in New York City, including the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

New York City Office of Emergency Management (NYCEM)

The NYCEM is responsible for coordinating the city’s emergency response efforts. It has a Public Health Emergency Preparedness Unit, which works with the DOHMH and other agencies to plan for and respond to public health emergencies, including infectious disease outbreaks. Mayor’s Management Report

√ Reports

NYC Vital Signs

The Publications search page provides users with access to online publications available from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The publications include information guides and factsheets geared towards the general public and health providers, as well as research and statistical reports relevant to the NYC population.

"Epi Data Briefs and Data Tables"

This series of reports provides detailed data on a variety of health topics, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and chronic diseases.

"COVID-19 Data: NYC Health"

This report provides daily updates on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in New York City, along with demographic breakdowns and trends over time.

"The Health of Immigrants in New York City"

This report, published by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, provides an epidemiological profile of immigrants in the city, including their health status, health care access, and health behaviors.

HIV Surveillance Annual Report

HIV surveillance data assist NYC to plan programs that increase the number of people who know their HIV status;
increase access to HIV prevention, testing, care and treatment; and sustain and improve health outcomes for people with HIV.

New York City 2020 - Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America Plan

The New York City Ending the Epidemic Plan (NYC ETE Plan),1 first implemented in 2015, employs an innovative HIV status neutral approach2 to reduce the number of new HIV infections to non-epidemic levels.

Lead Poisoning Reports, Publications and Surveillance Data

NYC childhood lead data are available through the Environment and Health Data Portal. These data are derived from blood lead test results reported to the Health Department.

NYC Vital Signs

"Epi Data Briefs and Data Tables"

This series of reports provides detailed data on a variety of health topics, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and chronic diseases.

"COVID-19 Data: NYC Health"

This report provides daily updates on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in New York City, along with demographic breakdowns and trends over time.

"The Health of Immigrants in New York City"

HIV Surveillance Annual Report

HIV surveillance data assist NYC to plan programs that increase the number of people who know their HIV status; increase access to HIV prevention, testing, care and treatment; and sustain and improve health outcomes for people with HIV.

New York City 2020 - Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America Plan

Lead Poisoning Reports, Publications and Surveillance Data

NYC childhood lead data are available through the Environment and Health Data Portal. These data are derived from blood lead test results reported to the Health Department.

√ Data sets

Syndromic Surveillance Data

Data about cases of asthma, diarrhea, influenza-like illness, respiratory diseases and vomit are available from 2016 by date of visit, age group and geography.

NYC Cancer Registry Report

This report provides data on the incidence, prevalence, and trends of cancer in New York City.

New York State Leading Causes of Death

These reports present ten years of the number of deaths and death rates for the top causes of all deaths and premature deaths in New York State, New York City and New York State excluding New York City, up to the most recent year with available data, by selected characteristics such as sex, age, and race/ethnicity.

New York City Vital Statistics

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene maintains vital statistics on births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in the city. This data is used to track trends in mortality and morbidity, and to inform public health interventions.

New York City Open Data

This portal provides access to a wide variety of health data, including data on demographics, health behaviors, and health outcomes. For example, users can create charts and maps of tuberculosis cases, lead poisoning rates, and HIV diagnoses.

Summary of Vital Statistics 2019

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Summary of Vital Statistics highlights trends in the births and deaths that occur in New York City to inform programs and policies.

SARS-CoV-2 concentrations measured in NYC Wastewater

Results of sampling to determine the SARS-CoV-2 N gene levels in NYC DEP Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) influent, disaggregated by the WRRF where the sample was collected, date sample was collected, and date sample was tested

√ Data visualizations

NYC Department of Health

The NYC Department of Health makes data available to researchers and the public through various interactive tools: The Community Health Profiles, EpiQuery, COVID-19 Data.

Map of NYC Health and Hospitals

A list of the 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers.

New York City Community Health Survey

This interactive data visualization tool allows users to explore data from the New York City Community Health Survey (CHS). The tool allows users to compare data across different demographic groups and to explore trends over time.

New York City Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal

The Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal is a website that provides data on environmental hazards and their potential health effects in New York City. The site includes data visualizations on air pollution, water quality, and other environmental factors that can impact health.

NCHHSTP AtlasPlus

Atlas provides interactive maps, graphs, tables, and figures showing geographic patterns and time trends of HIV, AIDS, chlamydia, gonorrhea, primary and secondary syphilis, TB, and viral hepatitis surveillance data.

National Center for Health Statistics

The Health, United States program provides national trends in health statistics. Explore the latest analyses in the online topic pages and the Annual Perspective.

√ STATISTICS

Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths

2021, DOHMH

Decrease in New HIV Diagnoses

2001-2020, DOHMH

NYC Tuberculosis Cases

2022, DOHMH

HIV Diagnoses

In 2020, 1,396 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City down 21% from 2019 and down 76% since 2001. Source: NYC DOHMH

Cancer cases

The burden of cancer in New York is considerable. Each year, over 118,000 New Yorkers learn they have cancer, and nearly 34,000 succumb to the disease, making it the second leading cause of death in the state. Source: Snapshot of Cancer in New York

Overdose Deaths

In 2021, there were 2,668 unintentional drug poisoning (overdose) deaths in NYC, compared with 2,103 in 2020, an increase of 565 deaths.  Source: EPI Data Brief

Tuberculosis

There were 536 people confirmed to have TB in New York City in 2022, a rate of 6.1 cases per 100,000 people. These numbers reflect a return to pre-pandemic case rates. Source: Annual Tuberculosis Summary, 2022

Life expectancy

Citywide, life expectancy was 81.3 years, remaining the same since 2018, and increasing by 0.4 years since 2010. Source: Summary of Vital Statistics

Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths

2021, DOHMH

Decrease in New HIV Diagnoses

2001-2020, DOHMH

NYC Tuberculosis Cases

2022, DOHMH

HIV Diagnoses

In 2020, 1,396 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City down 21% from 2019 and down 76% since 2001. Source: NYC DOHMH

Cancer cases

Overdose Deaths

In 2021, there were 2,668 unintentional drug poisoning (overdose) deaths in NYC, compared with 2,103 in 2020, an increase of 565 deaths.  Source: EPI Data Brief

Tuberculosis

Life expectancy

Citywide, life expectancy was 81.3 years, remaining the same since 2018, and increasing by 0.4 years since 2010. Source: Summary of Vital Statistics

√ Non-Profits

The New York Academy of Medicine

The academy is a non-profit organization that works to advance solutions that promote the health and well-being of people living in cities. It has a Center for Epidemiology and Health Analytics, which conducts research and provides technical assistance to improve public health in New York City.

Institute for Global Health at New York University (NYU)

NYU’s Institute for Global Health is a leading academic institution that conducts research and trains the next generation of public health leaders. They have a number of programs focused on epidemiology, including the Center for Epidemiology and Population Health.

John Snow, Inc.

John Snow, Inc. is a non-profit organization that uses data and technology to improve public health. They have a number of projects in New York City, including the NYC Health Data Hub and the NYC Open Data Portal.

Public Health Solutions

Public Health Solutions is a non-profit organization that conducts research and provides technical assistance to public health agencies. They have a number of projects in New York City, including the NYC HIV/AIDS Surveillance System and the NYC Cancer Registry.

The RAND Corporation

RAND is a global research organization that has a New York City office focused on health policy and research. Its work on epidemiology includes studies on infectious disease outbreaks, disaster response, and public health policy.

√ Experts

Oxiris Barbot, MD - United Hospital Fund

Oxiris Barbot, MD, is president and CEO of United Hospital Fund (UHF). She is a nationally recognized physician, public health practitioner, and innovative leader at the intersection of public health, social justice, and health care delivery.

Mary T. Bassett - Harvard

Mary T. Bassett is the Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and the FXB Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She has conducted research on health equity and social determinants of health.

Dr. Denis Nash - CUNY

Dr. Nash is a Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology and Executive Director of CUNY’s Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health.He has conducted extensive research on the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, as well as health disparities and social determinants of health.

Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr- Columbia

Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr is an international expert in infectious diseases and public health with extensive experience in epidemiology and research on the prevention and management of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and emerging infections, among others. She is the director of Columbia World Projects and director of the Mailman School’s Global Health Initiative (GHI).

Dr. Sharon Schwartz - Columbia University

Dr. Schwartz is a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of infectious diseases, particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections.

√ Journal Articles

"Epidemiology, clinical course, and outcomes of critically ill adults with COVID-19 in New York City: a prospective cohort study"

Matthew J Cummings, MD et al. 2020. The Lancet. We prospectively characterised the epidemiology, clinical course, and outcomes of 257 critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to two hospitals in New York City over the first month of the city’s outbreak.

"Regulating Cooling Towers to Prevent Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease"

Regulating Cooling Towers to Prevent Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease: The Need for More Research. Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH and Sharon Balter. A summer 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City called attention to how little is known about this pervasive environmental pathogen, despite an increasing incidence of human disease.

"Public Health Consequences of a 2013 Measles Outbreak in New York City"

“Public Health Consequences of a 2013 Measles Outbreak in New York City”. Jennifer B. Rosen, MD.JAMA Pediatr.

"Implementation of a Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Program at an Academic Medical Center in New York City"

Denise M. Bruno, Aimee Afable, Mona Pervil-Ulysse. et al. 2022. Academic Medicine. From August 1, 2020, to March 23, 2021, there were 185 COVID-19 cases referred to the Contact Tracing Corps; of these, 180 were successfully investigated and isolated (97%).

"Factors Associated with COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization and Death in New York City Neighborhoods"

Anna Gu, Hira Shafeeq, Ting Chen3et al. 2021
Innov Pharm. Higher percentages of black, Hispanic and foreign-born populations, lower educational attainment, poverty, lack of health insurance, and suboptimal quality of health care were all factors found to be correlated with increased rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

√ Key Issues

Infectious disease outbreaks

New York City has experienced several significant infectious disease outbreaks over the years, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as well as outbreaks of measles, tuberculosis, and other diseases. Epidemiologists have played a critical role in tracking the spread of these diseases and identifying strategies to control them.

Health disparities

Like many urban areas, New York City has significant health disparities, with certain populations experiencing higher rates of disease and poorer health outcomes than others. Epidemiologists have worked to identify and understand these disparities and develop interventions to address them.

Environmental health

New York City’s built environment presents numerous environmental health challenges, including exposure to air pollution, lead, and other toxins. Epidemiologists have studied the impact of these environmental factors on health outcomes and worked to develop policies and interventions to address them.

Chronic disease

Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are major public health challenges in New York City. Epidemiologists have studied the epidemiology of these diseases in the city and worked to identify risk factors and interventions to prevent and manage them.

Emergency preparedness

New York City is vulnerable to a range of natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and public health emergencies. Epidemiologists have played a critical role in developing preparedness plans and responding to emergencies to minimize their impact on public health.

√ Social Media Accounts

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