December 2008/January 2009
Where does the United States rank against other countries in the world on infant mortality?
The United States ranks 29th in the world on infant mortality as of 2004, compared to 27th in 2000, 23rd in 1990 and 12th in 1960, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
U.S. infant mortality rate was 6.78 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004, the latest year that data are available for all countries. Infant mortality rates were generally lowest — below 3.5 per 1,000 — in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The findings are published in the data brief "Recent Trends in Infant Mortality in the United States." The data come from the Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set and Preliminary Mortality Data File, collected through the National Vital Statistics System.
The current U.S. infant mortality rate is about 50 percent higher than the national goal of 4.5 infant deaths per 1,000 births. Increases in preterm birth and preterm-related infant mortality account for much of the lack of decline in the United States′ infant mortality rate from 2000 to 2005.
The full report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.
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November 2008
What percentage of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine?
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2007 approximately 38 percent of adults ages 18 and older reported using complementary and alternative medicine during the preceding 12 months.
Women were more likely than men to use complementary and alternative medicine, and men and women differed in their use of complementary and alternative medicine for certain conditions. For example, for neck pain, arthritis and anxiety, women were more likely than men to use complementary and alternative medicine. For reducing cholesterol, men were more likely than women to turn to complementary and alternative medicine.
The data are from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. For more information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.
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October 2008
What percentage of Americans believe the U.S. health care system should be changed or rebuilt?
According to a Commonwealth Fund survey released in August, 82 percent of Americans think the U.S. health care system should be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt.
The survey found that, in addition to respondents' overall dissatisfaction with the health care system, people are frustrated with the way they currently get health care. In fact, 47 percent of patients experienced poorly coordinated medical care in the past two years, such as not being informed about medical test results or having to call repeatedly to get them.
In addition, nine out of 10 people said it was very important or important to have one place or doctor responsible for their primary care and for coordinating all of their care. Similarly, respondents indicated substantial support for wider adoption of health information technology, such as computerized medical records and sharing information electronically with other doctors as a means of improving patient care.
The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted by Harris Interactive in May 2008. For more information or to download a copy of the survey, "Public Views on U.S. Health Care System Organization: A Call for New Directions," visit http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=698138.
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September 2008
True or false: Health insurance premiums have risen by more than 100 percent in the past 12 years.
True. For private-sector employers and their employees, health insurance premium costs have gone up by more than 100 percent since 1996, according to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
For employment-based health insurance between 1996 and 2006, the average premium cost of a family insurance plan in the United States rose from $4,954 to $11,381 per year, while the average cost for a single premium went from $1,992 to $4,118.
During that period, employers paid for most of the increases, with their share rising from $3,679 to $8,491 a year for family coverage and from $1,650 to $3,330 a year for single coverage. Employees, too, saw their share rise dramatically during that time, going from $1,275 in 1996 to $2,890 a year in 2006 for family coverage and from $342 to $788 a year for single coverage.
The data are from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
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August 2008
What percentage of adults ages 65 and older have ever received a pneumonia shot?
In 2007, approximately 58 percent of adults ages 65 and older had ever received a pneumonia shot, up from about 42 percent in 1997. Unlike a flu shot, the pneumococcal vaccination is usually given only once or twice in a person’s lifetime.
The estimates, which come from the National Center for Health Statistics, are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population.
Statistically significant differences by sex, age group and race or ethnicity were observed in the survey. For example, women were more likely than men to have ever received a pneumonia shot, and adults ages 75 and older were more likely to have ever received the shot compared with adults ages 65 to 74. Also, among adults ages 65 and older, whites were more likely to have ever received a pneumonia shot than blacks and Hispanics.
To view the selected estimates, visit www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhis/released200806.htm.
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June/July 2008
What are some of the top reasons for doctor visits in the United States?
Mental health woes are one of the top reasons for doctor visits. Depression and other mental health problems prompted 156 million Americans to visit doctors’ offices, clinics and hospital outpatient departments in 2005, according to March 2008 statistics from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Also, the number of mental health visits has increased 30 percent since 1996.
According to the analysis, the other top reasons for getting nonemergency ambulatory care in 2005 included:
* back problems, which prompted 139 million visits and cost $17.6 billion;
* trauma-related disorders such as fractures, which prompted 133 million visits and cost $27 billion;
* chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, which together resulted in 93 million visits at a cost of $12 billion; and
* high blood pressure, which resulted in 79 million visits and cost $10 billion.
The statistics, which come from AHRQ’s News and Numbers, are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, the frequency with which they are used, the cost of those services and how they are paid.
For tables with the medical care costs of other conditions in 2005, visit www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/quick_tables_results.jsp?component=1&subcomponent=0&tableSeries=2&year=-1&SearchMethod=1&Action=Search.
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May 2008
What is the second leading cause of death by injury in the United States?
In 2004, poisoning became the second leading cause of death by injury in the United States, following motor vehicle crashes. That year, the state age-adjusted poisoning death rate ranged from 4.6 to 19.4 people per 100,000 population. States with the highest rates included West Virginia, where 19.4 poisoning deaths per 100,000 population were recorded in 2004. New Mexico, Utah and Nevada also had high rates, at 18.4, 17.7 and 17.3 respectively.
Nine out of 10 poisoning deaths in 2004 were caused by drugs, 7 percent by inhalation of gases and vapors, 1 percent by alcohol and 1 percent by other substances.
Among U.S. poisoning deaths in 2004, 69 percent were classified as unintentional, 19 percent were attributed to suicide, 11 percent were of undetermined intent and 0.3 percent were classified as homicides.
The data are from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. For more information, visit http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortsql.html.
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April 2008
What percentage of Americans purchase prescription drugs from mail-order pharmacies?
Among Americans who bought prescription drugs in 2005, about 13 percent purchased them from mail-order pharmacies, up slightly from the approximately 9 percent who purchased prescription drugs from mail-order pharmacies in 2000, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
About 37 percent of the Americans who bought drugs from mail-order pharmacies in 2005 were age 65 and older, about 88 percent were white and about 87 percent had private health insurance. Also, roughly 75 percent of the Americans who purchased drugs from mail-order pharmacies in 2005 had at least one chronic illness.
Between 2000 and 2005, the number of Americans who purchased prescription medicines from drug stores dropped from 65 percent to 61 percent; the number of Americans who purchased prescription drugs from pharmacies located in clinics, HMOs or hospitals dropped from 15 percent to 13 percent; and the number of Americans who bought prescription drugs from pharmacies located in supermarkets and super stores fell from 32 percent to 28 percent between 2000 and 2005.
The statistics, which come from AHRQ’s News and Numbers, are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. For more information, visit www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st200/stat200.pdf.
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March 2008
What percentage of U.S. men and women engage in regular physical exercise?
In 2005, nearly 50 percent of men and 47 percent of women engaged in regular physical activity.
From 2001 to 2005, the prevalence of regular physical activity increased 8.6 percent among women overall and 3.5 percent among men. The largest increases occurred among black women and men, increasing 15 percent among black women and 12.4 percent among black men from 2001 to 2005.
However, about half of adults do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity and racial, ethnic and educational disparities in activity continue to persist. For example, the 2005 survey showed that 52.3 percent of white men reported engaging in regular physical activity as compared with 45.3 percent of black men and 41.9 percent of Hispanic men. Likewise, 49.6 percent of white women engaged in regular physical activity in 2005, as compared with 40.5 percent of Hispanic women and 36.1 percent of black women.
The data come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used to examine changes in the prevalence of regular, leisure-time, physical activity from 2001 to 2005. The prevalence of engaging in recommended levels of physical activity in 2001 and 2005 were examined by sex, race, ethnicity, education and age for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Studies show that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of chronic disease.
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February 2008
What are the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century were:
* Vaccination
* Motor vehicle safety
* Safer workplaces
* Control of infectious diseases
* Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke
* Safer and healthier foods
* Healthier mothers and babies
* Family planning
* Fluoridation of drinking water
* Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
According to CDC, the top 10 achievements are not ranked by order of importance. Each is based on the opportunity for prevention and the impact on death, illness, and disability in the United States.
From 1900 to 1999, U.S. residents became healthier and their life expectancies increased dramatically. In fact, the average lifespan of U.S. residents increased by more than 30 years in the decades following 1900. CDC attributes 25 years of this gain to advances in public health.
For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/tengpha.htm.