The Early Release
Program of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a household
interview survey conducted annually by the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, provides access to the latest data
on key national health indicators. In this second early release, data from
1997 through the first quarter of 2001 are now available electronically.
The indicators included are: lack of health insurance coverage, influenza
vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination, obesity, leisure time physical
activity, health status, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, HIV
testing, having a usual source of medical care, and failing to obtain
needed medical care.
The "Second Early
Release of Health Indicator Data from the 2000 and Early 2001 NHIS"
can be viewed or downloaded from the CDC website. CDC
plans to periodically release updated findings on these and additional
indicators on the Internet to track important health measures. Findings
for January - March 2001 should be considered preliminary.
Highlights
of the findings:
The
percent of
children under age 18 years who lacked health insurance coverage decreased
from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 11.5 in the first quarter of 2001.
The survey shows that
the percent of adults who received influenza vaccine in the past year
has climbed steadily in the past few years, but dropped in the last
quarter of 2000--reflecting the delay in the availability of vaccine for
the 2000-2001 flu season.
For those aged 65
years and
over, the percent who had ever received a pneumococcal vaccination also
increased from 1997 to 2000. As with influenza vaccinations, non-Hispanic
white people were more likely to have ever received vaccinations than
non-Hispanic black and Hispanic groups.
In early 2001, 15
percent of U.S. adults reported regularly participating in light or
moderate leisure time physical activity.
The prevalence of
self-reported obesity among U.S. adults has increased over time from 19.4
percent in 1997 to 22.4 percent in early 2001.
About 2 percent of
Americans classify their health as poor.
In early 2001, 22.3
percent of adults were current smokers, indicating a continuous decline in
smoking.
About
1 in 10 American adults (ages 18-64 years) consumed alcohol excessively. For both men
and women, younger adults were more likely to drink excessively than older
adults.
The percent of adults
who have a usual source of medical care remained relatively constant at
about 85 percent from 1997 thru early 2001. During this same time period,
about 93 percent of children had a usual source of care.
In early 2001, 4.8
percent of the population--up slightly over the past 4 years--was
unable to obtain needed medical care in the past year due to financial
barriers.
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