NCHS: A Blog of the National Center for Health Statistics
Latest Report on Access to Health Care
Nearly one in five U.S. adults – more than 40 million people – report they do not have adequate access to the health care they need, according to the annual report on the nation’s health released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report, “Health, United States, 2007,” is a Read More >
Posted on byObesity Among Adults in the U.S.
New CDC study finds no increase in obesity among adults, but levels still high. Based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), more than one-third of U.S. adults were obese in 2005-2006. This includes 33.3% of men and 35.3% of women. Click here for more. Read More >
Posted on byLeading Causes of Death in the U.S.
Ranking causes of death is a popular method of presenting mortality statistics. Leading causes of death in the U.S. ranked major killers by age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Data are based on information from death certificates filed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2004. View full report here! Read More >
Posted on byElectronic Medical Records (EMR)
New report shows EMR are being used by more office-based physicians than ever. In 2006, 29.2 % of office-based physicians reported using full or partial EMR systems, this shows an increase of 22% since 2005 and 60% increase since 2001. See full report here! Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsThe New York Times and Oral Health
Today’s New York Times runs a story headlined Boom Times for U.S. Dentists, But Not for Americans’ Teeth: Previously unreleased figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2003 and 2004, the most recent years with data available, 27 percent of children and 29 percent of adults had cavities going untreated. Read More >
Posted on byFalling Accidents In Older Adults
We have released a new report entitled Fall injury episodes among noninstitutionalized older adults: United States, 2001–2003. From the report: Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal medically attended injuries in the United States (1). Injuries caused by falls are more prevalent among adults aged 65 years and over compared with younger persons, occurring Read More >
Posted on byHIV Testing
Though the CDC has a center devoted to the study of HIV/AIDS, the National Center for Health Statistics produces data on HIV testing. The most comprehensive source is from the National Health Interview Survey’s Summary Health Statistics: US Adults. Another comprehensive study is HIV Testing in the United States, 2002. Read More >
Posted on byUS Life Expectancy At All Time High
A child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 78 years (77.9) – a new high – according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2005.” The report from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics is based on approximately 99 Read More >
Posted on byUpcoming Publications. September, 2007
Most of our regular reports appear about the same time each year. In addition to those regular reports, such as those on births, deaths, etc., we also produce special reports and our researchers publish regularly in scholarly journals. Looking forward for the next several months, this is our schedule of publications. Read More >
Posted on byTeen Suicide and Antidepressants
Today’s Washington Post carries a story based on an article from the journal American Journal of Psychiatry. Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of the drugs. Now a new study has found that the Read More >
Posted on byNew Marriage and Divorce Data
Provisional marriage and divorce data for 2006 are available at the NCHS website. Read More >
Posted on byNew Mortality Data for 2004
Our report Deaths: Final Data for 2004 is available at the NCHS website. Results—In 2004, a total of 2,397,615 deaths were reported in the United States. The age-adjusted death rate was 800.8 deaths per 100,000 standard population, representing a decrease of 3.8 percent from the 2003 rate and a record low historical figure. Life expectancy Read More >
Posted on byHysterectomies
The rate of hysterectomies in the United States has remained fairly constant over time. In 1994, there were some 556,000 hysterectomies performed for a rate of 214.7/100,000 persons (not just women). In 2004, there were about 617,000 such procedures performed for a rate of 21.1/10,000 persons. The rate by year and by age group as Read More >
Posted on byCDC’s Abortion Surveillance Report
The National Center for Health Statistics does not track the number of abortions. Abortions are tracked through CDC’s Abortion Surveillance System and reported annually in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Reports covering 1979 through the most current report are located at the above link. Typically, these reports are published in the last week of Read More >
Posted on byWireless Use in the United States
Most of our data sets are distinctly health and medical related. But not all. Using the National Health Interview Survey as a vehicle we have published on the trend of households abandoning landline telephone in favor of wireless. The most recent report, covering July-December 2006 is here. Earlier reports are here and here. Read More >
Posted on byAge of Mothers
The age of mothers has been increasing over time. Tables documenting this trend, from 1960 through 2004, as well as the increasing number of older women chosing to have children can be found here. Read More >
Posted on byInternational Life Expectancy
Several news outlets have been running stories comparing the life expectancy in the United States with the life expectancy in other nations. We do not track life expectancy in other nations. US life expectancy can be found here. International life expectancy, as compiled by the Census Bureau, can be found here. Read More >
Posted on byMean height and weight of children
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has studied the height and weight of Americans for decades. Tables documenting the increase in both height and weight for children and adolescents aged 2-19 since 1963 can be found here. Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentAnti-depressant Use
CNN recently ran a story that has gained some attention. It is entitled CDC: Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S. […]According to a government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. They’re prescribed more than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches. CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen Read More >
Posted on byAmerica’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Last Friday we released the 10th anniversary edition of America’s Children, a product of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) is a collection of 22 Federal government agencies involved in research and activities related to children and families. The Forum was founded Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentPandemic Flu
Pandemic flu is not tracked by the National Center for Health Statistics. For the best resources on pandemic or avian flu visit the pandemic flu website. Read More >
Posted on byMother’s Age at First Birth
One of the interesting demographic phenomena is the steady upwards creep in the age of women when they give birth to their first child. In 1940 the age at first birth was 23.0 years. It dipped downwards to 21.5 in 1960 and was at 25.2 in 2004. The data can be found here. Read More >
Posted on byAmbulatory Care Visits
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today issued a new report, “Ambulatory Medical Care Utilization Estimates for 2005,” which contains information on patient visits to emergency departments, outpatient clinics, and physician offices. Highlights of the report: There were over 1.2 billion patient visits to physician offices, hospital outpatient clinics, and emergency rooms in 2005. Read More >
Posted on byMore Obesity Resources
We’ve written a couple of times on the subject of overweight and obesity. However, some of our research has been published in scholarly journals rather than on our website. The journal Obesity: Racial and Ethnic Differences in Secular Trends for Childhood BMI, Weight, and Height The journal Gastroenterology: The Epidemiology of Obesity. More data on Read More >
Posted on byCircumcision Rates
Circumcision is a topic that has vigorous advocates for and against. As a statistical agency we don’t have a view on that particular subject but we do track male infant circumcision through our National Hospital Discharge Survey. Our publication Trends in circumcisions among newborns can be downloaded as can this table showing numbers of circumsicisions Read More >
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