Healthy Aging > Data and Statistics > Healthy Aging Data
Indicator Short Name: Disability status, including sensory or mobility limitations
Indicator Long Name: Percentage of older adults who report having a disability (includes limitations related to sensory or mobility impairments or a physical, mental, or emotional condition)
Indicator Description:
Disability was defined on the basis of an affirmative response to at least one of the following questions: 1. "Are you deaf or do you have serious difficulty hearing? 2. Are you blind or do you have serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses? 3. Because of a physical, mental or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? 4. Do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? 5. Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing? 6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping?"
The chance of having a disability goes up with age, from less than 10% for people 15 years of age or younger, to almost 75% for people 80 years or older.
People with disabilities face many challenges related to mobility and accessibility.1
Question:
1. "Are you deaf or do you have serious difficulty hearing? 2. Are you blind or do you have serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses? 3. Because of a physical, mental or emotional condition, do you have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? 4. Do you have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? 5. Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing? 6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, do you have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping?"
a. Yes
b. No
c. DK/not sure
d. Refused
Reference:
1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 2005 Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons with Disabilities: Calling You to Action. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2005.
Indicator Short Name: Arthritis among older adults
Indicator Long Name: Percentage of older adults ever told they had arthritis
Arthritis is defined on the basis of an affirmative response to the following question: "Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?"
The chance of having arthritis or joint symptoms goes up with age.
People with arthritis face many challenges related to mobility and accessibility.1
1. "(Ever told) you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?"
Indicator Short Name: Severe joint pain among older adults with arthritis
Indicator Long Name: Severe joint pain due to arthritis among older adults with doctor-diagnosed arthritis
Respondents for this indicator were identified on the basis of an affirmative response to the question: "Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?" and a response of 7, 8, 9, or 10 to the question "On a scale or 0 to 10 where 0 is no pain or aching and 10 is pain or aching as bad as it can be, During the past 30 days, how bad was your joint pain on average?"
People with arthritis face many challenges related to mobility and accessibility, and may experience severe joint pain from arthritis.1
On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is no pain or aching and 10 is pain or aching as bad as it can be, during the past 30 days, how bad was your joint pain on average?
a. 0 - 10
b. DK/not sure
c. Refused
Indicator Short Name: Fair or poor health among older adults with arthritis
Indicator Long Name: Fair or poor health among older adults with doctor diagnosed arthritis
Respondents for this indicator were identified on the basis of an affirmative response to the question: "Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?" and responses of 'fair' or 'poor' to the question "Would you say that in general your is excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?"
People with arthritis face many challenges that may affect overall health.1
(Ever told) you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?
Would you say that in general your health is:
a. Excellent
b. Very Good
c. Good
d. Fair
e. Poor
g. Refused
Indicator Short Name: Self-rated health (good to excellent health)
Indicator Long Name: Percentage of older adults who self-reported that their health is "good", "very good" or "excellent"
Self-assessed health status is a strong measure of overall health status and has been demonstrated to correlate with subsequent health service use, functional status, and mortality.1,2
Self-rated health status is a subjective measure, making it difficult to know its reliability and validity.
Would you say that in general your health is?
b. Very good
f. DK/not sure
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measuring Healthy Days. Atlanta, Georgia: CDC, November 2000.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health-Related Quality of Life, Surveillance and Data. http://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/index.htm. Accessed November 3, 2015
Indicator Short Name: Self-rated health (fair to poor health)
Indicator Long Name: Percentage of older adults who self-reported that their health as "fair" or "poor"
Indicator Short Name: Recent activity limitations in past month
Indicator Long Name: Recent activity limitations among older adults (mean number of days in past month)
Experiencing activity limitations because of poor physical or mental health interferes with social functioning, is associated with health behavior, and is an indicator of population productivity. A measure of disability burden should be monitored as a chronic condition among older adults.1
During the past 30 days, for about how many days did poor physical or mental health keep you from doing your usual activities, such as self-care, work, or recreation?
a. 1-30 days
b. None
1. Moriarty DG, Zack MM, Kobau R. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's healthy days measures – population tracking of perceived physical and mental health over time. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2003;1(37):1-8.
Indicator Short Name: Prevalence of sufficient sleep (>6 hours)
Indicator Long Name: Percentage of older adults who reported sufficient sleep (>6 hours)
Insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions—such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, and depression. Insufficient sleep is associated with the onset of these conditions and also poses important implications for their management and outcome. Sleepiness can also reduce productivity and quality of life.1,2
On average, how many hours of sleep do you get in a 24-hour period?
a. 1-6 hours
b. 7-24 hours
1. Institute of Medicine. Sleep disorders and sleep deprivation: an unmet public health problem. Washington DC: the National Academies Press; 2006.
2. Schoenborn CA, Adams PF, Peregoy JA. Health behaviors of adults: United States, 2009-2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 10(257). 2013.