Annual
Report on Nation's Health Spotlights Elderly Americans
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Contact: NCHS Press
Office (301) 436-7551
CDC Office of Media Relations (404) 639-3286
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov
Health,
United States, 1999 with Health and Aging Chartbook. 412 pp. (PHS)
99-1232. GPO stock number and price forthcoming. This report may be
purchased from the Government
Printing Office View/download PDF 2.3 MB
HHS Secretary Donna E.
Shalala today released a new report showing that a growing and
increasingly diverse elderly population in the U.S. is living longer but
still faces health challenges as the next century approaches.
Health, United States,
1999, the annual "report card" on the Nation’s health produced
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), features a special chartbook this
year on the aging population in the U.S.
"With the arrival
of the new millennium comes the reality that in the next 30 years, one out
of five people in this country will be over the age of 65," Secretary
Shalala said. "In planning for the nation’s health care in the next
century, we cannot ignore this group. That is why it is important now more
than ever that we modernize Medicare's benefits and strengthen its
finances for years to come."
"Many older people
are in good health and leading active lives in the community. However, a
significant number of persons over age 85 still have chronic illnesses and
disabilities that limit their ability to fully participate in everyday
activities," said CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan. "As life spans
increase we must help all of our citizens prepare for a healthy old age.
People of all ages should be tobacco-free, eat right, and keep physically
active so their golden years will be healthy years."
Life expectancy for
older Americans has increased over the past 50 years. Based on current
mortality rates, a 65-year-old person in 1997 could on average expect to
live to be nearly 83 years old; an 85-year-old in 1997 could expect to
live to be over 90.
"The increase in
life expectancy is one of the great achievements of the 20th
century," says Richard M. Suzman, Ph.D., associate director for
behavioral and social research at the National Institute on Aging (NIA),
part of the National Institutes of Health. "In the next
century, as research increases our understanding of health and aging, we
can look forward to spending more of the added years in better
health."
Contributing to longer
life expectancy is the significant and long-term decline in mortality,
especially from heart disease. Death rates from heart disease among
persons 65-84 have been reduced by about half since 1970; among those aged
85 and over, death rates from heart disease have dropped 21 percent over
the same time period.
Examining the quality
of those added years of life, the report shows that most older persons are
not severely limited in their daily activities despite living with chronic
conditions. A majority of noninstitutionalized persons 70 years of age and
over reported they suffered from arthritis, and approximately one-third
reported they had hypertension. Diabetes was reported by 11 percent.
Overall, less than 10
percent of noninstitutionalized persons 70 years of age and over were
unable to perform one or more activities of daily living (e.g., bathing,
dressing, using the toilet) in 1995. However, this disability increased
with age from close to 5 percent among persons 70-74 years of age to
nearly 22 percent among persons 85 years of age and over.
Other findings on
the health status of the elderly:
In 1995, 39 percent of
noninstitutionalized persons 70 years of age and over used assistive
devices such as hearing aids, diabetic and respiratory equipment, and
canes and walkers during the previous 12 months.
Seven
out of 10 nondisabled persons 65 years of age and over participated in
some form of exercise at least once in a recent 2-week period, such as
walking, gardening, and stretching. Still, only about one-third of persons
who exercised achieved recommended levels.
Almost
all elderly persons have Medicare coverage. However, non-Hispanic black
and Hispanic elderly persons were less likely than non-Hispanic white
persons to have private insurance to supplement their Medicare coverage.
Approximately
12 percent of Medicare enrollees 65 years of age and over were in managed
care plans in 1997. For the U.S. population as a whole, HMO enrollment
increased to 29 percent in 1998.
Health, United States,
1999, features more than a hundred tables showing trends in health status,
health risk factors, use of health care and a variety of other health
topics for the entire U.S. population collected from several Federal and
non-Federal sources. The NIA provided support for the chart book on aging.
The report can
be downloaded from the National Center for Health Statistics' ( NCHS) Home
Page at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/.
NCHS is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS.
For more
information, please contact NCHS, Office of Public Affairs (301) 458-4800,
or via e-mail atpaoquery@cdc.gov.
NOTE: For other HHS
Press Releases and Fact Sheets pertaining to the subject of this
announcement, please visit our Press Release and Fact Sheet search engine
at: www.dhhs.gov/news/press/.