Percent of U.S. Adults 55 and Over with Chronic Conditions

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These tables show the percent of adults with one or more, two or more, or three or more of six possible chronic conditions. These data are from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey. The data are shown by sex and are broken down into three age categories: 55 years and over, 55 to 64 years, and 65 years and over. The six possible chronic conditions are arthritis, current asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes. Women in all age groups are more likely than men to have one or more, two or more, or three or more chronic conditions.

Percentage of Adults age 55 years and over (Total, Male & Female), with one or more, two or more, or three or more of a possible six chronic conditions: United States, 2008.

	Total		Male		Female
	%	SE	%	SE	%	SE
Age 55 years and over	(n=70,688,633)		(n=32,130,140)		(n=38,558,493)
1+ chronic conditions	78.0	0.6	75.3	0.9	80.1	0.7
2+ chronic conditions	47.0	0.7	41.8	1.0	51.3	0.9
3+ chronic conditions	19.0	0.5	16.1	0.7	21.4	0.7

Source: CDC/National Center for Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey.

Percentage of Adults age 55 to 64 years (Total, Male & Female), with one or more, two or more, or three or more of a possible six chronic conditions: United States, 2008.

	Total		Male		Female
	%	SE	%	SE	%	SE
Age 55 to 64 years	(n=38,558,493)		(n=16,123,407)		(n=17,378,853)
1+ chronic conditions	69.5	1.0	67.7	1.4	71.1	1.2
2+ chronic conditions	37.1	1.0	32.3	1.4	41.5	1.3
3+ chronic conditions	14.4	0.7	11.1	0.9	17.4	1.0

Source: CDC/National Center for Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey.

Percentage of Adults age 65 years and over (Total, Male & Female), with one or more, two or more, or three or more of a possible six chronic conditions: United States, 2008.

	Total		Male		Female
	%	SE	%	SE	%	SE
Age 65 years and over	(n=37,186,373)		(n=16,006,733)		(n=21,179,640)
1+ chronic conditions	85.6	0.6	83.0	1.0	87.6	0.7
2+ chronic conditions	56.0	0.9	51.4	1.4	59.4	1.1
3+ chronic conditions	23.1	0.7	21.2	1.2	24.6	1.0

Source: CDC/National Center for Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey.

Definitions of Conditions

Chronic Conditions

Persons were defined as having one (or two or three) or more of six chronic conditions (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cancer, or arthritis) if they responded yes to being diagnosed with any one (or more) of the listed chronic diseases as described below:

Diabetes:

Persons with diabetes are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• [Other than during pregnancy] Have you ever been told by a doctor or health professional that you have diabetes or sugar diabetes?

Persons who respond ‘borderline’ are not considered diabetic.

Cardiovascular Disease:

Persons with hypertension, coronary heart disease, angina, history of a heart attack, any kind of heart condition or heart disease, or history of a stroke

Persons with hypertension are defined as persons who responded yes to the following two questions:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had ... Hypertension, also called high blood pressure
• Were you told on two or more DIFFERENT visits that you had hypertension, also called high blood pressure?

Persons with coronary heart disease are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had... Coronary heart disease?

Persons with angina are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had ... Angina, also called angina pectoris?

Persons with a history of a heart attack are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had ...A heart attack (also called myocardial infarction)?

Persons with any other kind of heat condition or heart disease are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had ...Any kind of heart condition or heart disease (other than the ones I just asked about)?

Persons with a history of a stroke are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had ...A stroke?

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD):

Persons with COPD are defined as persons who responded yes to either of the following questions:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had...Emphysema?
  DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, have you been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had...chronic bronchitis?

Asthma:

Persons with asthma are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?, AND
• Do you still have asthma?

Cancer:

Persons with cancer are defined as reporting having had any cancer, excluding non-melanoma (or don’t know what type) skin cancers:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had...
  • Cancer or a malignancy of any kind?
  • What kind of cancer was it?

Arthritis:

Persons with arthritis are defined as persons who responded yes to:

• Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia (fy-bro-my-AL-jee-uh)?

These estimates may be revised in the future as further analyses are completed.