CDC Releases New
Report on U.S. Health Statistics Mammography on the Rise
for Women Age 50 and Over
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
Contact: NCHS Press Office
(301) 458-4800
CDC Office of Media Relations (404) 639-3286
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov
Health,
United States, 2000 With Adolescent Health Chartbook. 456 pp. (PHS) 00-1232.
GPO stock number 017-022-01498-0 price $41.00. This report may be purchased from the Government Printing Office View/download PDF 2768 MB
Nearly 7 out of 10 women aged 50
years and over say theyve had a mammogram in the past two years, according to new
data released today in the latest comprehensive report on the nations health.
According to the report, "Health,
United States: 2000," released by the Centers for Disease Control and
Preventions National Center for Health Statistics (CDC/NCHS), 69 percent of women
ages 50 and over reported recent mammography in 1998, up from 61 percent in 1994, and more
than two-and-a-half times the total from 1987 (27 percent).
"This is positive news. Weve
come a long way in educating women about the importance of early detection as a vital
prevention tool in battling breast cancer," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala.
"And with our expanded Medicare coverage for annual mammograms, were hoping to
see this upward trend continue."
Substantial increases in mammography
screening occurred for poor women as well as for women with family incomes at or above the
federal poverty level. However poor women were less likely to receive screening than women
at higher income levels. Among women living below the poverty threshold in 1998, 53
percent reported recent mammography screening compared with 72 percent of women at or
above poverty.
HHS programs are working to address
this need. CDCs National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides
mammography screening services to underserved women.
Meanwhile, age-adjusted death rates
from breast cancer for women fell to 19 deaths per 100,000 in 1998, down from 23 in 1990.
Disparities in health care
Other findings in the report point out
disparities in the use of health care:
Nearly one-half of adults living in poverty compared with one
in five non-poor adults had an untreated dental cavity in 1988-94.
Children living in
poverty were 50 percent more likely than non-poor children to have a recent emergency
department visit in 1998.
More than one-quarter
of children without health insurance coverage had no usual source of health care in 1997,
compared with 4 percent of children with health insurance.
Uninsured children were
nearly three times as likely as those with health insurance to be without a recent
doctors visit in 1997.
In 1998, three-quarters
of children under 18 years of age had a dental visit in the past year, although Hispanic
and non-Hispanic black children were less likely than non-Hispanic white children to have
a recent visit.
Other findings on health
status
The report also contains many other new
findings related to health status:
In 1998, more than three out of five American adults consumed
alcoholic beverages. About one out of five were lifetime abstainers, with women about
twice as likely as men to be lifetime abstainers (29 and 15 percent, respectively).
Cigarette smoking by
adults has remained stable at about 25 percent since 1990. During 1997, more American
Indian and non-Hispanic black men (38 percent and 32 percent respectively) smoked
cigarettes than other men.
Adolescent health
In addition to reporting on the health
status and use of health care for the total population, this years report features a
special chart book on adolescent health, which documents increasing risks as children
advance from age 10 to 19 years of age. For example, those in the late teenage years are
more likely than pre-teens or younger teenagers to die from a motor vehicle or firearm
injury; to visit the emergency department with an illness or injury; to smoke, binge drink
or use marijuana.
"This chartbook gauges the extent
of many of the health problems facing young people," said CDC Director Jeffrey P.
Koplan, MD, MPH. "We all know that adolescence is a challenging time for teens and
for their families. We need this information to help our youngsters move through
adolescence to become healthy adults."
Other findings from the chartbook show
that:
Death rates for motor vehicle traffic injuries, the leading
cause of injury deaths for adolescents, increased markedly with age, doubling between ages
15 and 16 years.
9th graders are more
likely than high school seniors to participate in vigorous physical activity.
Sexual activity increases with
age through the teen years as does the likelihood of sexually transmitted
disease.