NCHS: A Blog of the National Center for Health Statistics
QuickStats: 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 >
Posted on byAmerican Heart Month
In honor of American Heart Month, it is important to note that almost 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women, accounting for approximately 307,000 deaths for men and 290,000 deaths for women in 2010. During Read More >
Posted on byStudy: 3 out of 4 Youth Consume Caffeinated Beverages Each Day – But Tastes Are Shifting
There appears to have been a significant shift over the past decade in what young people are choosing as their “drink of choice” when it comes to caffeinated beverages. While it’s safe to say that soda (or “Pop,” for those of us from the Upper Midwest) won’t become extinct on grocery shelves any time soon, there clearly appears to Read More >
Posted on byMilestones and Honors: CDC Honors Dr. Sandra Decker
Dr. Sandra Decker, Distinguished Consultant, Office of Analysis and Epidemiology (OAE), was honored by CDC’s Health Economics Research Group with the 2013 Kaafee Billah Memorial Award for outstanding health economics research. The award ceremony took place on January 28, 2014, at the National Center for Health Statistics campus in Hyattsville, MD. Dr. Scott Grosse, CDC’s Read More >
Posted on byAsk the Expert: Dr. Kathryn Porter
Since 1991, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has collected and stored genetic specimens for future studies. Among other considerations, whether, when, and for which biologic measures the results should be reported back to individual survey respondents is a growing concern. NCHS has developed an action plan for reporting individual results; however, the Read More >
Posted on byNew Analysis on Blood Mercury Levels & Seafood Consumption Does Not Resolve The Debate Over What Level Is Considered A Health Risk
While seafood generally is considered part of a healthy diet, it can also contain methyl mercury—a neurotoxin. However, there is little to no scientific consensus on what level of mercury in the blood is considered a health hazard (ATSDR, EPA). A group of NCHS researchers – Samara Joy Nielsen, Brian K Kit, Yutaka Aoki, and Read More >
Posted on byAsk the Expert: Dr. Stephen Blumberg
Beginning in 2003, NCHS’s National Health Interview Survey [NHIS] has collected information on cell phone ownership and use among its respondents. In the ensuing 10 years, cell phone usage has grown substantially and has become all but ubiquitous. A 2006 Health E-Stat revealed that, for the last six months of 2005: approximately 8.4 percent of Read More >
Posted on byHeroin-Related Deaths in the U.S.
The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has sparked a great deal of interest in heroin overdose deaths in the U.S. The number of heroin-related deaths are available from the multiple cause of death option on the CDC WONDER database using the T40.1 ICD Code,“Poisoning by and adverse effect of heroin.” However, this may not Read More >
Posted on byFinancial Burden of Medical Care: A Family Perspective
Recently published data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that 1 in 5 persons was in a family having problems paying medical bills, and 1 in 10 persons was in a family with medical bills that they were unable to pay at all. NHIS defines “family” as an individual or a group of Read More >
Posted on byInfluenza Vaccine Stats
With winter now in full force, it is important for people to get vaccinated against influenza, a serious respiratory disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and influenza infection can affect people differently. An annual seasonal flu vaccine (either through a shot or nasal mist) is the best way to Read More >
Posted on byUpdates to Stats of the States
NCHS has new updates to Stats of the States that caputures vital statistics for all 50 states. Read More >
Posted on byQUICKSTAT: Average Annual Number of Deaths from Unintentional, Non–Fire-Related Carbon Monoxide Poisoning-US, 1999–2010
During 1999–2010, a total of 5,149 deaths from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning occurred in the United States, an average of 430 deaths per year. The average annual death rate from carbon monoxide poisoning for males was more than three times higher than that for females. The death rates were highest among those 65 or older for males (0.42) Read More >
Posted on byStatcast – October through December 2013
[wpvideo 7VcZE0vQ] Welcome to Statcast. Quarterly highlights from the National Center for Health Statistics This edition covers October through December of 2013 In October, a new release have data showed that nearly 35 percent of American adults were obese in 2012 Up slightly from 30 percent a decade before New data also showed 13 percent Read More >
Posted on byDirector’s Corner—New Year, New Challenges, New Opportunities
Every year brings its own set of challenges, opportunities, and successes, and 2013 was certainly no exception. Over the course of the year, a number of long-term leaders chose to retire. Center Director Dr. Edward Sondik; Stephanie Ventura, Chief of the Reproductive Statistics Branch; Marjorie Greenberg, Chief of the Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Read More >
Posted on byFewer Women Seeking Help for Infertility
A new report from NCHS presents nationally representative estimates and trends for infertility service use among women aged 15–44 and 25–44 in the United States in 1982–2010. While greater detail on types of infertility service is shown for women, basic data on types of infertility service use, as reported by men aged 25–44, are also Read More >
Posted on byElectronic Health Records Among Office-based Physician Practices: United States, 2001–2013
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 authorized incentive payments to increase physician adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems. The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs are staged in three steps, with increasing requirements for participation. To receive an EHR incentive payment, physicians must show that they are “meaningfully Read More >
Posted on byFirst-Ever Data on Asian-Americans Released
The number of Asian persons in the United States grew by more than 40% between 2000 and 2010. Asian persons now make up 4.9% of the population. To address the scarcity of health information based on physical measurements of Asian persons, non-Hispanic Asian persons were oversampled for the first time in the National Health and Read More >
Posted on byQuickStats: Infant Mortality Rates by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity of Mother — United States, 2000, 2005, and 2010
The U.S. infant mortality rate plateaued during 2000–2005, then declined from 6.86 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005 to 6.14 in 2010. Declines from 2005 to 2010 were largest for non-Hispanic black women (from 13.63 to 11.46), followed by non-Hispanic white (from 5.76 to 5.18) and Hispanic women (from 5.62 to 5.25). In Read More >
Posted on byHypothermia Deaths
With record-breaking cold weather sending single digit temperatures in most of the country, its important to stay warm. Prolonged exposure to the cold will eventually use up your body’s stored energy and can lead to hypothermia. If gone untreated, hypothermia can lead to death. From 1999 to 2011, a total of 16,911 deaths in the United Read More >
Posted on bySTATE VITALS: ALASKA
The state known as “The Last Frontier” has the highest suicide rate and ranks 6th in accidents. Alaska also has mortality rates that are higher than the U.S. for the following causes: cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and influenza/pneumonia. However, Alaska had the lowest rates in the country for low birthweight rate (6% of all births) and cesarean Read More >
Posted on byFact or Fiction: Suicides Increase During the Holiday Season and Winter Months
PREMISE: It is commonly believed that more people are likely to commit suicide during the holidays and winter months as a result of stress, depression, and/or loneliness. Fact or Fiction: FICTION Contrary to popular belief, the number of suicides do not increase during the holiday season or winter months. In fact, after sorting suicides by month for Read More >
Posted on byNational Birth Defects Prevention Month
January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month. Major birth defects are conditions present at birth that cause structural changes in one or more parts of the body. They can have a serious, adverse effect on health, development, or functional ability. Birth defects – also known as congenital anomalies – are a leading cause of infant death Read More >
Posted on by1 out of 4 Adolescents Engaged in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which have been adopted by the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative and the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend that youth participate in daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes. This report presents the most recent national data from 2012 on self-reported physical activity among youth aged Read More >
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