Improving Health of People with Disabilities

CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) works to ensure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities for good health as people without disabilities.

Disabilities may include difficulty with movement, attention, social interaction, hearing, seeing, concentrating, remembering, emotions, or making decisions. Many people will experience a disability during their lifetimes, but having a disability does not mean that a person is not healthy or cannot be healthy. People with disabilities need healthcare services and programs that provide information on how they can be at their best for the same reasons everyone else does—to stay well, active, and part of their communities. CDC works to ensure that people of all abilities can live their lives to the fullest.

Data for Action

CDC created the Disability and Health Data System (DHDS) to provide vital information at the state and national levels needed to better understand the health needs of adults with disabilities. Equipped with these data, state epidemiologists, researchers, policymakers, public health professionals, and everyone interested in the health of adults with disabilities can plan for inclusive communities that offer the programs and services needed to improve the health of this population.

DHDS is an online, easy-to-use data tool that provides state- and national-level data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on approximately 30 health topics for adults with and without disabilities.

Users can access information on six disability types (cognitive [difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering], vision, hearing, mobility, self-care, and independent living) and view data for “Any Disability” and “No Disability,” as well as the difference between the two.

Users can explore data by indicator (for example, health conditions and health risks and behaviors) or by location—then make custom maps, charts, and tables, making it easy to view information for each state. 

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  According to DHDS, compared to adults without disabilities, adults with disabilities are more likely to be obese, smoke, have high blood pressure, and be physically inactive. These factors can increase the risk for chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers. These chronic diseases are also more common among adults with disabilities.

• Data from DHDS were used to create NCBDDD’s Disability and Health State Profiles. These fact sheets provide an overview of disability in each state, compared to national estimates. State epidemiologists, researchers, policymakers, public health professionals, and everyone interested in the health of adults with disabilities can use this information to learn more about the percentages and characteristics of adults with disabilities in their states.
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  The Ohio Disability and Health Programexternal icon used DHDS to create a fact sheet pdf icon[PDF – 224 KB]external icon for use by healthcare professionals, educators, disability advocates, and community members. The fact sheet describes smoking data in Ohio, and includes resources for quitting smoking that are available to Ohioans with disabilities. The Ohio Disability and Health Program distributed the fact sheet through their website, email network, and social media. They then contracted with the American Association on Health and Disabilityexternal icon to share the fact sheet with a national audience.

• David Ellsworth, a Health Services Policy Specialist with the Ohio Disability and Health Program, gave a presentation to trainees at the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND)external icon program about “big data.” He discussed how databases, such as DHDS, can be used to convince partners to prioritize efforts that address the health needs of people with disabilities.
• The Kansas Disability and Health Programexternal icon works to teach the public about health differences faced by Kansans with disabilities. They have distributed more than 400 copies of CDC’s Kansas-specific “Disability Impacts All of Us” graphics page, which includes data from DHDS.

Notable Scientific Publications

• Andrews JG, Lamb MM, Conway K, Street N, Westfield C, Ciafaloni E, Matthews D, Cunniff C, Pandya S, Fox D. Diagnostic accuracy of phenotype classification in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy using medical record dataexternal icon. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2018;5(4):481–495.
• Cyrus AC, Royer J, Carroll DD, Courtney-Long EA, McDermott S, Turk MA. Anti-hypertensive medication use and factors related to adherence among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilitiesexternal icon. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2019;124(3):248–262.
• Doyle KE, Sionean C, Paz-Bailey G, Hollis ND, Kanny D, Wejnert C; NHBS Study Group. High prevalence of disability and HIV risk among low socioeconomic status urban adults, 17 U.S. citiesexternal icon. Disabil Health J. 2019 Aug 13. 2020;13:100834.
• Gilbertson KE, Jackson HL, Dziuban EJ, Sherman SL, Berry-Kravis EM, Erickson CA, Valdez R. Preventive care services and health behaviors in children with fragile X syndromeexternal icon. Disabil Health J. 2019;12(4):564–573.
• Nash R, Riley C, Paramsothy P, Gilbertson K, Raspa M, Wheeler A, Dziuban EJ, Peacock G. A description of the educational setting among individuals with fragile X syndromeexternal icon. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2019;124(1):57–76.
• Sahay KM, Smith T, Conway KM, Romitti PA, Lamb MM, Andrews J, Pandya S, Oleszek J, Cunniff C, Valdez R. A review of MD STARnet’s research contributions to pediatric-onset dystrophinopathy in the United States; 2002–2017external icon. J Child Neurol. 2019;34(1):44–53.
• Tanaka ST, Paramsothy P, Thibadeau J, Wiener JS, Joseph DB, Cheng EY, Tu D, Austin C, Koh CJ, Wallis MC, Walker WO, Smith KA, Routh JC, Baum MA. Baseline urinary tract imaging in infants enrolled in the UMPIRE protocol for children with spina bifidaexternal icon. J Urol. 2019;201(6):1193–1198.
• Theis KA, Steinweg A, Helmick CG, Courtney-Long E, Bolen JA, Lee R. Which one? What kind? How many? Types, causes, and prevalence of disability among U.S. adultsexternal icon. Disabil Health J. 2019;12(3):411–421.
• Wang Y, Ouyang L, Dicianno BE, Beierwaltes P, Valdez R, Thibadeau J, Bolen J. Differences in length of stay and costs between comparable hospitalizations of patients with spina bifida with or without pressure injuriesexternal icon. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2019;100(8):1475–1481.
• Zhao G, Okoro CA, Hsia J, Garvin WS, Town M. Prevalence of disability and disability types by urban-rural county classification—U.S., 2016external icon. Am J Prev Med. 2019;57(6):749–756.