NCHS: A Blog of the National Center for Health Statistics
Rural and Urban Hospitals’ Role in Providing Inpatient Care
In 2010, 17% of the U.S. population lived in rural (nonmetropolitan) areas. Disparities in health care access between rural and urban areas have been documented. Rural hospitals not only provide inpatient care, but also emergency department, outpatient department, long-term care, and health care coordination . Rural hospitals may have difficulty remaining financially viable. Medicare payment Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 25 or Older Who Were Current Smokers or Current Regular Drinkers by Education Level
Among adults aged 25 or older in 2012, 26.5% of those who did not graduate from high school and 26.4% who had a high school diploma or GED were current smokers, compared with 19.7% who had attended some college and 7.9% with a college degree. In contrast, 64.2% of college graduates were current regular drinkers, compared with Read More >
Posted on bySTATE VITALS: IDAHO
In the U.S., Idaho ranks 48th in the percentage of births to unmarried mothers (27.4%) and 47th in cesarean delivery rates (24.9). The state’s teen birth rate is lower than the overall U.S. rate (28.3 vs. 29.4). Idaho’s low birthweight rate ranks 44th in the country. However, among the 10 leading causes of death in the Read More >
Posted on byRegional Variation in Use of Complementary Health Approaches by U.S. Adults
Complementary health approaches are defined as “a group of diverse medical and health care interventions, practices, products, or disciplines that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.” They range from practitioner-based approaches, such as chiropractic manipulation and massage therapy, to predominantly self-care approaches, such as nonvitamin, nonmineral dietary supplements, meditation, and yoga. A new report presents Read More >
Posted on bySTATE VITALS: IOWA
Iowa has mortality rates that are lower than the United States rate in firearm deaths, homicide and drug poisoning deaths. The state also has the 5th lowest mortality rate for kidney disease and ranks 11th in percent of births to unmarried mothers. However, Iowa has mortality rates that are higher than the U.S. for chronic lower respiratory Read More >
Posted on bySTATCAST: January – March 2014
[wpvideo OJ3SDsrT] Welcome to this edition of Statcast, a quarterly presentation of data highlights from the National Center for Health Statistics. This edition covers the period January through March, 2014. In 2012, 53,635 babies were born outside of a hospital in the U.S., including over 35,000 births that occurred in the home. Just over 1 Read More >
Posted on byUnintentional Drowning Deaths in the United States, 1999–2010
Drowning is the third leading cause of death from unintentional injury worldwide, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths according to 2004 data from the World Health Organization. Previous reports indicated that, although the death rate from unintentional drowning for persons aged 0–19 years decreased in the United States, drowning had become the major cause Read More >
Posted on byQUICKSTATS: Percentage of Men and Women Who Regularly Had Insomnia or Trouble Sleeping by Family Income as a Percentage of Poverty Level
During 2012, the percentage of adults aged 18 years or older who reported that they regularly had insomnia or trouble sleeping during the past 12 months ranged from 15.8% for those with family incomes more than 400% of the poverty level to 24.8% for those with family incomes under 100% of the poverty level. For both men Read More >
Posted on byPulmonary Hypertension Deaths Increase in Past Decade
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an uncommon but progressive condition. Much of what we know about PH comes from specialized disease registries. PH occurs when the blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, which carry oxygen and blood from the heart to the lungs, is much higher than normal. The decline in death rates associated with PH Read More >
Posted on byPercentage of People Under age 65 in Families Having Problems Paying Medical Bills Decrease
A new NCHS report provides updated estimates for the percentage of persons under age 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills, by selected demographic variables, based on data from five consecutive 6-month periods from January–June 2011 to January–June 2013 of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). In this report, an NHIS “family” Read More >
Posted on byDirector’s Corner—NCHS and Public Health
Monday, April 7, marks the beginning of National Public Health Week. For the past 20 years, the American Public Health Association has observed National Public Health Week as a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation’s health. This makes it a good time reflect Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Percentage of Adults 65 Years or Older Who Have Lost All Their Natural Teeth
During 2010–2012, 30% of adults 65 years or older living in nonmetropolitan areas had no natural teeth, compared with 21% of those living in metropolitan areas. The percentage of adults 65 years or older with no natural teeth was higher in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas in all regions of the United States. In Read More >
Posted on byStat Line
The latest data on 15 selected health measures based on data from the National Health Interview Survey with five year interval trend points. The 15 measures include smoking, obesity, physical activity, alcohol consumption, HIV testing, health insurance, usual place for medical care, obtaining needed medical care, influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination, general health status, personal care needs, Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Dental Visits by Children Aged 2–17 in 2012
During 2012, approximately 69% of children aged 5–17 had a dental visit in the past 6 months; among children aged 2–4 years, the percentage with a dental visit was 45%. Approximately 19% of those aged 5–17 years and 12% of those aged 2–4 years had a visit more than 6 months to 1 year. Read More >
Posted on byElectronic Health Record Adoption Continues to Climb
While adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems has grown rapidly, little is known about physicians’ perspectives on its adoption and use. Nationally representative survey data from 2011 are used to compare the perspectives of physicians who have adopted EHRs with those that have yet to do so across three key areas: the impact of Read More >
Posted on byState Vitals: Hawaii
The Aloha State has mortality rates that are lower than the total U.S. for the following causes: heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, accidents, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. Hawaii also has the lowest mortality rate in the country for chronic lower respiratory disease and Alzheimer’s disease, 2nd lowest cancer mortality rate, and 3rd Read More >
Posted on byRoutine Prenatal Care Visits by Provider Specialty in the United States, 2009–2010
Previous studies have focused on practice patterns of obstetricians/gynecologists or overall ambulatory care utilization by women (2–5). However, the amount of routine prenatal care delivered by obstetrics and gynecology (ob/gyn) providers and non-ob/gyn providers has not been quantified. Understanding which providers deliver prenatal care may yield valuable information about training and workforce needs. A new Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 18 and Over Who Have Lost All Their Natural Teeth
During 2010–2012, the percentage of adults aged 18 and over who had no natural teeth was higher in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas for all age groups. The percentage of adults with no natural teeth also increased steadily with age in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan locations. Among persons aged 85 and over in nonmetropolitan locations, Read More >
Posted on byNews Brief: Teen Pregnancy, and Sedentary Time and Disability
Data collected through NCHS’ National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used as the foundation for two important studies released this year that have attracted significant national media attention. Teen Pregnancy and MTV In January, the National Bureau of Economic Research released its paper, “Media Influences on Read More >
Posted on byMarch is National Nutrition Month
March is National Nutrition Month and NCHS has been collecting dietary data on the U.S. population for more than 40 years. The primary data source for monitoring nutrition in the U.S. is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which uses personal interviews, standardized physical examinations and laboratory tests. Through NHANES, NCHS obtains nationally representative Read More >
Posted on bySTATE VITALS: FLORIDA
Among the 50 U.S. states, Florida ranks 3rd highest for cesarean delivery rates, and 4th highest in the proportion of births to unmarried mothers and preterm births. The Sunshine State also has a higher homicide rate and higher mortality rate from drug overdose deaths than the national rate, and has a significant larger proportion of its population without health Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Percentage of Office-Based Physicians Using an Electronic Health Record System by State
In 2013, the percentage of physicians using an Electronic Health Record system was higher than the national average in seven states (Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin) (range = 87%–94%) and was lower than the national average in New Jersey (66%). Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged 40 Years or Older Who Ever Had a Cardiovascular Event and Are Now Taking Low-Dose Aspirin to Prevent or Control Heart Disease in 2012
In 2012, 69.6% of adults aged 40 years or older who ever had a cardiovascular event (73.2% of men and 65.4% of women) were taking low-dose aspirin to prevent or control heart disease. Non-Hispanic white men (75.9%) were more likely to be taking low-dose aspirin compared with Hispanic (60.7%) and non-Hispanic black men (60.6%). No statistically Read More >
Posted on byOut-of-Hospital Births Increase in US
In 1900, almost all U.S. births occurred outside a hospital; however the proportion of out-of-hospital births fell to 44% by 1940 and to 1% by 1969, where it remained through the 1980s. Although out-of-hospital births are still rare in the United States, they have been increasing recently. If this increase continues, it has the potential Read More >
Posted on byLatest Obesity Trends Offer Mixed Picture
Obesity among preschoolers ages 2 to 5 dropped from approximately 14% in 2003-04 to 8.4% in 2011-12, according to new research in the February 26 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, there was no change in obesity prevalence for all children and adolescents between 2 and 19 years of age – Read More >
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