NCHS: A Blog of the National Center for Health Statistics

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults in the United States, 2015–2018

A new NCHS report examines the percentage of adults aged 20 and over who consumed fruit and vegetables on a given day by sex and income in 2015–2018 and trends in fruit and vegetable consumption. Key Findings: More than two-thirds (67.3%) of adults aged 20 and over consumed any fruit on a given day, and Read More >

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American Heart Month 2021

February is American Heart Month. Heart Disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States with over 659,000 deaths in 2019.  Heart disease death rates have declined by almost 40 % from 1999 to 2019.  However, the provisional death rate for heart disease during the second quarter of 2020 was 166 Read More >

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NCHS Podcast Series

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) produces a short podcast series, “Statcast,” which posts on the NCHS web site every Friday morning.  The podcasts are 5-10 minutes in length and feature an interview with an NCHS subject matter expert on a specific health topic along with a summary of that week’s NCHS data releases. Read More >

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Death Certificates & The Process That Produces National Mortality Data in the U.S.

STATCAST, JANUARY 2021: DISCUSSION WITH ROBERT ANDERSON, CHIEF OF MORTALITY STATISTICS, ABOUT DEATH CERTIFICATE DATA. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/podcasts/2021/20210201/20210201.htm HOST: Death certificates serve a very important legal purpose in the United States.  The death certificate is the only legal proof that a person has died, and the State uses it to stop social security payments, pensions, and other Read More >

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QuickStats: Percentage of Women Who Have Ever Used Emergency Contraception† Among Women Aged 22–49 Years Who Have Ever Had Sexual Intercourse, by Education

Among women aged 22–49 years who have ever had sexual intercourse, 24.3% have ever used emergency contraception. The percentage of women who have ever used emergency contraception increased with education level, from 12.6% among women without a high school diploma or GED to 27.9% among women with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Source: National Survey of Read More >

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QuickStats: Percentage of Women Aged 22–44 Years Who Have Ever Cohabited with an Opposite-Sex Partner by Education

Among women aged 22–44 years, during 2015–2019, 67.3% had ever cohabited with an opposite-sex partner compared with 62.5% during 2006–2010. Among women with a high school diploma, GED, or less education, the percentages of those who had ever cohabited with an opposite-sex partner were similar (72.6%) across the two periods; the percentage of women with Read More >

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Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts (thru June 2020)

  NCHS released the latest monthly provisional data on drug overdose deaths in America on Wednesday.  This release covers the one-year period ending in June of 2020, and the impact of the pandemic on drug abuse in the country is reflected in the new numbers. Provisional data show that the reported number of drug overdose Read More >

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QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 20 Years or Older Who Had Taken Any Dietary Supplement† in the Past 30 Days, by Sex and Family Income

During 2017–2018, 57.6% of adults aged ≥20 years had taken a dietary supplement within the past 30 days. The percentage increased with family income: 44.9% among those with family incomes <130% of the FPL, 56.2% among those with family incomes 130%–349% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and 65.7% among those with family incomes ≥350% Read More >

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U.S. Life Expectancy Went Up Last Year, Prior to the Pandemic

Final data released today for 2019 provides a baseline perspective of mortality in the United States leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.  The new data are featured in two reports that document the latest official numbers on life expectancy, leading causes of death, and drug overdose deaths for 2019.  The data show that Read More >

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QuickStats: Rate of Emergency Department (ED) Visits by Homeless Status and Geographic Region§ — National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2015–2018

  During 2015–2018, there were annual averages of 42 ED visits per 100 total population, 42 ED visits per 100 nonhomeless persons, and 203 ED visits per 100 homeless persons. Within each region, the rate of ED visits among homeless persons was higher than the rate for nonhomeless persons. The rates of visits for nonhomeless Read More >

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Overdose Deaths Jump 18% in the Past Year (through May 2020)

The latest monthly drug overdose death data for the United States was released today, and the numbers paint a disturbing picture about the on-going drug crisis facing the country.  According to these provisional data, there were an estimated 81,230 overdose deaths from June 2019 thru May of 2020 – a dramatic 18% increase from the Read More >

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Opioid-involved Emergency Department Visits in the National Hospital Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey

Questions for Geoffrey Jackson, Health Statistician and Lead Author of “Opioid-involved Emergency Department Visits in the National Hospital Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.” Q: Why did you decide to research opioid-involved emergency department (ED) visits? GJ: From 2005 through 2014, it is estimated that the rate of ED visits due Read More >

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QuickStats: Percentage of Emergency Department (ED) Visits Made by Adults with Influenza and Pneumonia That Resulted in Hospital Admission, by Age Group

During 2017–2018, 37.2% of ED visits for influenza and pneumonia by adults aged 18 years or older resulted in a hospital admission. The percentage increased with age from 14.4% for adults aged 18–54 years to 46.9% for adults aged 55–74 years and 69.7% for adults aged 75 years or older. Source: National Center for Health Statistics. Read More >

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Firearm Homicides in New York City, 1980 vs. 2018

On December 8, 1980, rock legend John Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York City home. The senseless killing served as an exclamation point for a violent decade – during the 1970’s there were well over 137,000 firearm homicides in the United States, culminating with 15,500 in 1980 alone. In the five boroughs Read More >

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Urgent Care Center and Retail Health Clinic Utilization Among Children: United States, 2019

Questions for Lindsey Black, Health Statistician and Lead Author of “Urgent Care Center and Retail Health Clinic Utilization Among Children: United States, 2019.” Q: Why did you decide to research urgent care center and retail health clinic utilization among children?  LB: This is a growing segment of health care delivery system where many American’s seek Read More >

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Increases in Prepregnancy Obesity: United States, 2016–2019

A new NCHS report presents trends in prepregnancy obesity for 2016 through 2019 by maternal race and Hispanic origin, age, and educational attainment. Trends by state for 2016–2019 and 2019 rates also are shown. Key Findings: Prepregnancy obesity in the United States rose from 26.1% in 2016 to 29.0% in 2019 and increased steadily for Read More >

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Life Expectancy in the U.S., 1900-2018

This week, NCHS published the latest “life tables” for the United States, through the year 2018.  Life expectancy estimates for 2019 are expected to be released in the coming weeks.  The new report, “United States Life Tables 2018,” features a rich collection of historical data, extending back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Read More >

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QuickStats: Death Rates from Septicemia Among Persons Aged ≥65 Years, by Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2000–2018

During 2000–2018, the death rate from septicemia among persons aged 65 years or older generally decreased from 70.8 to 58.7 deaths per 100,000 population. The death rate was lower in 2018 than in 2000 among persons aged 75–84 years (80.4 compared with 69.4) and among persons aged 85 years or older (215.7 compared with 167.4). Read More >

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Fact or Fiction: The gap in life expectancy between the black and white populations shrinks as people age

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/videos/2020/19november2020/FOF_19November_2020.htm Read More >

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QuickStats: Death Rates from Unintentional Falls Among Persons Aged ≥65 Years, by Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 1999–2018

From 1999 to 2018, death rates from unintentional falls among persons aged ≥65 years increased among all age groups. The largest increase occurred among persons aged ≥85 years, from 110.2 per 100,000 in 1999 to 270.5 in 2018. For persons aged 75–84 years, the rate increased from 31.5 to 63.1, and among those aged 65–74 Read More >

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Hypertension in the United States

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and lowering blood pressure to normal levels has been shown to decrease the incidences of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure.  Hypertension was the 13th leading cause of death in the United States in 2018, responsible for nearly 36,000 deaths nationwide.  That number has more than Read More >

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Urban-rural Differences in Visits to Office-based Physicians by Adults with Hypertension: United States, 2014–2016

Questions for Danielle Davis, Health Statistician and Lead Author of “Urban-rural Differences in Visits to Office-based Physicians by Adults With Hypertension: United States, 2014–2016.” Q: Why did you decide to research urban-rural differences in visits to office-based physicians by adults with hypertension? DD: During grad school, I worked on a project with the Baltimore City Read More >

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QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates for Alzheimer Disease Among Adults Aged 65 Years or Older, by Sex and Race/Hispanic Origin

In 2018, the age-adjusted death rate for Alzheimer disease among adults aged 65 years or older was higher for women (267.9 deaths per 100,000) than for men (191.9). Among men, non-Hispanic White men had the highest death rate (201.7) compared with non-Hispanic Black (176.8) and Hispanic (168.4) men. Among women, non-Hispanic White women (285.1) had Read More >

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Death Rates in the U.S. from Selected Leading Causes of Death, 1960-2016

Mortality from leading causes of death in the United States have shown distinct patterns over the years, with shifts in trends depending heavily on which years are being examined.  Using a slightly different approach, crude death rates for five selected leading causes of deaths were examined for the past 15 election years, 1960 thru 2016 Read More >

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Q & A Podcast with Author of Special Diets Among Adults Report

NCHS has a new podcast interview with Bryan Stierman, an epidemic intelligence officer with the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Dr. Stierman works with the NCHS National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES, and he is the lead author on a  study on Special Diets among American adults that was released on November Read More >

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