In 2004 and 2013, the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NYC HANES) measured the health of adults living throughout New York City using representative samples, a detailed health interview, and a brief physical exam on more than 3,500 New Yorkers. We are now pleased to offer these data to researchers around the world.

To date, more than 50 academic articles have been published using NYC HANES data as well as clinical and biospecimen results. We invite researchers in public health, medicine, and other fields to download the most recent dataset or submit a proposal to receive specimens for use in their own research.

In 2004, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) conducted the first NYC HANES. In 2013 to 2014, the survey was conducted by researchers at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, in partnership with NYC DOHMH. The CUNY lead investigator moved to NYU Langone Health in 2016 and NYC HANES is now hosted here.

The NYC HANES is modeled after a similar national version, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which has been conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than 35 years.

NYC HANES on YouTube

Watch our brief “Improving City Life” primer video to learn how adults living in New York City contributed to the survey—as well as its methodology, history, and population health impact.

NYC HANES Investigators

Two principal investigators, Lorna E. Thorpe, PhD, MPH, from NYU Langone Health, and Sharon Perlman, MPH, of the NYC DOHMH, led the 2013–2014 NYC HANES.

Lorna E. Thorpe, PhD, MPH

Dr. Lorna E. Thorpe is a professor at NYU Langone’s Department of Population Health, where she serves as department chair. Dr. Thorpe has worked in both academia and public health leadership, including beginning her research career as a CDC epidemic intelligence service officer and serving as deputy commissioner overseeing epidemiology for the NYC DOHMH. Reflecting her work in both public health practice and academic settings, Dr. Thorpe’s research focuses on modernizing population health surveillance and studying the impacts of both policies and social conditions on health. Dr. Thorpe leads a number of National Institutes of Health–, CDC-, and foundation-funded research initiatives, including two CDC-funded centers. Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has engaged in a series of related prevention initiatives, ranging from prevention trials to developing studies to evaluate different COVID-19 testing approaches in underserved communities. Learn more about Dr. Thorpe

Sharon Perlman, MPH

Sharon Perlman is the director of special projects for the Division of Epidemiology at the NYC DOHMH. Her research focuses on how population health research can be used to better understand and respond to public health issues and inequities. She is also co-principal investigator of Healthy NYC, a panel of New York City adults being used for regular surveys on COVID-19, mental health, social determinants of health, and other topics to inform the NYC DOHMH’s policies and programming, and response to the pandemic. Ms. Perlman completed her MPH at Columbia University.