Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.

QuickStats: Percentage of Children Aged <18 Years Who Had Excellent or Very Good Health,* by Race† --- National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2008§

The figure shows the percentage of children aged 18 years and under who had excellent or very good health by race in 2008, according to the National Health Interview Survey. In 2008, 82.5% of U.S. children had excellent or very good health. The percentage of children who had excellent or very good health ranged from 62.6% for AI/AN children to 85.6% for Asian children. Asian and white children had higher percentages of excellent or very good health compared with black and AI/AN children.

* In response to the question, "Would you say [subject's name]'s health in general was excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?" Health status data were obtained by asking adult respondents to assess their own health and that of other family members living in the same household.

† Categories shown are limited to children of only a single race. Total includes other race categories not shown because of small sample sizes.

§ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population and are derived from the National Health Interview Survey sample child component. Estimates were age adjusted using the projected 2000 U.S. population as the standard population and the following age groups: 0--4 years, 5--11 years, and 12--17 years.

¶ 95% confidence interval.

** American Indian/Alaska Native.

In 2008, 82.5% of U.S. children had excellent or very good health. The percentage of children who had excellent or very good health ranged from 62.6% for AI/AN children to 85.6% for Asian children. Asian and white children had higher percentages of excellent or very good health compared with black and AI/AN children.

SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, 2008 data. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.

Alternative Text: The figure above shows the percentage of children aged 18 years and under who had excellent or very good health by race in 2008, according to the National Health Interview Survey. In 2008, 82.5% of U.S. children had excellent or very good health. The percentage of children who had excellent or very good health ranged from 62.6% for AI/AN children to 85.6% for Asian children. Asian and white children had higher percentages of excellent or very good health compared with black and AI/AN children.

Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of the date of publication.

All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from typeset documents. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.

**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.

Date last reviewed: 11/5/2009