Detailed Tables: Health Status

Indicator 12 Life Expectancy
Indicator 13 Mortality
Indicator 14 Chronic Health Conditions
Indicator 15 Memory Impairment
Indicator 16 Depressive Symptoms
Indicator 17 Self-Rated Health Status
Indicator 18 Disability

Indicator 12 : Life Expectancy

TABLE 12A: LIFE EXPECTANCY BY AGE GROUP AND SEX, IN YEARS, 1900 TO 1997
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1997
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH
TOTAL 49.2 51.5 56.4 59.2 63.6 68.1 69.9 70.8 73.9 75.4 76.5
MEN 47.9 49.9 55.5 57.7 61.6 65.5 66.8 67.0 70.1 71.8 73.6
WOMEN 50.7 53.2 57.4 60.9 65.9 71.0 73.2 74.6 77.6 78.8 79.4
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT AGE 65
TOTAL 11.9 11.6 12.5 12.2 12.8 13.8 14.4 15.0 16.5 17.3 17.7
MEN 11.5 11.2 12.2 11.7 12.1 12.7 13.0 13.0 14.2 15.1 15.9
WOMEN 12.2 12.0 12.7 12.8 13.6 15.0 15.8 16.8 18.4 19.0 19.2
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT AGE 85
TOTAL 4.0 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.3 4.7 4.6 5.3 6.0 6.2 6.3
MEN 3.8 3.9 4.1 4.0 4.1 4.4 4.4 4.7 5.1 5.3 5.5
WOMEN 4.1 4.1 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.9 4.7 5.6 6.4 6.7 6.6
Note: The estimates for decennial years are based on decennial census data and deaths for a three-year period around the census year. Life expectancy estimates for years prior to 1930 are based on the death registration area only. The death registration area increased from 10 states and the District of Columbia in 1900 to the coterminous United States in 1933.
Reference population: These data refer to the resident population.
Source: National Vital Statistics System.

TABLE 12B:  LIFE EXPECTANCY BY AGE GROUP AND RACE, IN YEARS, 1997
WHITE BLACK
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH 77.1 71.1
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT AGE 65 17.8 16.1
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT AGE 85 6.2 6.4
Reference population: These data refer to the resident population.
Source: National Vital Statistics System.

Indicator 13 : Mortality 

TABLE 13A: DEATH RATES FOR SELECTED LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AMONG PERSONS AGE 65 OR OLDER, 1980 TO 1997 (PER 100,000)
HEART DISEASE CANCER STROKE CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASES PNEUMONIA & INFLUENZA DIABETES
1980 2,629 1,052 669 179 214 107
1981 2,547 1,056 625 186 207 106
1982 2,503 1,069 587 186 181 102
1983 2,512 1,078 566 204 207 104
1984 2,450 1,087 548 211 214 103
1985 2,431 1,091 533 226 243 103
1986 2,372 1,101 508 228 245 101
1987 2,316 1,106 497 230 237 102
1988 2,306 1,114 491 240 263 105
1989 2,172 1,133 465 240 253 120
1990 2,092 1,142 449 245 258 120
1991 2,049 1,151 436 252 245 121
1992 1,995 1,154 427 253 233 121
1993 2,032 1,164 437 275 249 129
1994 1,963 1,161 437 273 239 133
1995 1,941 1,160 442 273 239 137
1996 1,894 1,150 438 278 236 141
1997 1,832 1,133 426 281 237 141
PERCENT CHANGE 1980-97 -30.3 7.7 -36.3 57.0 10.7 31.8
Note: Rates are age-adjusted using the 2000 standard population.
Reference population: These data refer to the resident population.
Source: National Vital Statistics System.

TABLE 13B:  LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AMONG PERSONS AGE 65 OR OLDER, BY SEX AND RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN, 1997
WHITE BLACK ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN INDIAN and ALASKA NATIVE HISPANIC
MEN
1 Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease
2 Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer
3 Stroke Stroke Stroke Diabetes Stroke
4 COPD COPD Pneumonia and Influenza Stroke Diabetes
5 Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza COPD COPD Pneumonia and Influenza
6 Diabetes Diabetes Diabetes Pneumonia and Influenza COPD
7 Unintentional Injuries Nephritis Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries
8 Nephritis Unintentional Injuries Nephritis Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis
9 Alzheimer's Disease Septicemia Hypertension Nephritis Nephritis
10 Septicemia Hypertension Septicemia Septicemia Septicemia
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES
704,603 69,898 10,441 2,485 24,988
WOMEN
1 Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease
2 Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer
3 Stroke Stroke Stroke Diabetes Stroke
4 COPD Diabetes Pneumonia and Influenza Stroke Diabetes
5 Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Diabetes Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza
6 Diabetes COPD COPD COPD COPD
7 Alzheimer's Disease Nephritis Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries
8 Unintentional Injuries Septicemia Nephritis Nephritis Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis
9 Nephritis Hypertension Hypertension Septicemia Nephritis
10 Atherosclerosis Unintentional Injuries Septicemia Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis Alzheimer's Disease
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES
844,062 85,445 9,363 2,575 26,383
Note: COPD=Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Hispanics may be of any race.
Reference population: These data refer to the resident population.
Source: National Vital Statistics System.

TABLE 13C:  LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH AMONG PERSONS AGE 85 OR OLDER, BY SEX AND RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN, 1997
WHITE BLACK ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE HISPANIC
MEN
1 Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease
2 Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer
3 Stroke Stroke Stroke Diabetes Pneumonia and Influenza
4 Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Stroke
5 COPD COPD COPD COPD COPD
6 Unintentional Injuries Nephritis Diabetes Diabetes Diabetes
7 Diabetes Diabetes Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries
8 Nephritis Septicemia Nephritis Nephritis Nephritis
9 Alzheimer's Disease Unintentional Injuries Hypertension Septicemia Alzheimer's Disease
10 Atherosclerosis Hypertension Alzheimer's Disease Hypertension Septicemia
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES
177,227 13,767 2,699 468 5,671
WOMEN
1 Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease Heart Disease
2 Stroke Cancer Stroke Stroke Cancer
3 Cancer Stroke Cancer Cancer Stroke
4 Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza Pneumonia and Influenza
5 COPD Diabetes COPD Diabetes Diabetes
6 Alzheimer's Disease Septicemia Diabetes COPD COPD
7 Diabetes Nephritis Unintentional Injuries Unintentional Injuries Alzheimer's Disease
8 Unintentional Injuries Hypertension Hypertension Alzheimer's Disease Atherosclerosis
9 Atherosclerosis COPD Septicemia Septicemia Nephritis
10 Nephritis Alzheimer's Disease Nephritis Atherosclerosis Unintentional Injuries
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES
368,037 28,348 2,813 709 9,232
Note:  COPD=Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Hispanics may be of any race.
Reference population: These data refer to the resident population.
Source: National Vital Statistics System.

Indicator 14 :  Chronic Health Conditions

TABLE 14:  PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS AGE 70 OR OLDER WHO  REPORTED HAVING
SELECTED CHRONIC CONDITIONS, BY SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS, 1984 AND 1995
1984 1995
TOTAL
ARTHRITIS 55.0 58.1
DIABETES 9.9 12.0
CANCER 12.4 19.4
STROKE 7.8 8.9
HYPERTENSION 45.6 45.0
HEART DISEASE 16.4 21.4
MEN
ARTHRITIS 44.9 49.5
DIABETES 9.9 12.9
CANCER 13.8 23.4
STROKE 8.3 10.4
HYPERTENSION 36.8 40.5
HEART DISEASE 18.7 24.7
WOMEN
ARTHRITIS 61.1 63.8
DIABETES 10.0 11.5
CANCER 11.6 16.7
STROKE 7.3 7.9
HYPERTENSION 50.8 48.0
HEART DISEASE 14.9 19.2
70 TO 74
ARTHRITIS 55.0 54.4
DIABETES 10.8 13.4
CANCER 11.1 18.5
STROKE 6.0 7.1
HYPERTENSION 44.8 43.7
HEART DISEASE 15.6 18.9
75 TO 79
ARTHRITIS 54.1 58.3
DIABETES 9.7 12.6
CANCER 11.9 20.2
STROKE 7.6 8.7
HYPERTENSION 45.2 44.9
HEART DISEASE 15.2 22.0
80 TO 84
ARTHRITIS 57.3 61.4
DIABETES 10.8 11.0
CANCER 15.2 20.2
STROKE 9.6 10.4
HYPERTENSION 48.6 47.8
HEART DISEASE 20.0 23.0
85 OR OLDER
ARTHRITIS 53.3 64.1
DIABETES 6.5 8.0
CANCER 13.1 19.0
STROKE 10.9 13.2
HYPERTENSION 44.4 45.2
HEART DISEASE 16.4 25.4
NON-HISPANIC WHITE
ARTHRITIS 54.3 57.9
DIABETES 8.9 10.9
CANCER 13.4 21.0
STROKE 7.5 8.6
HYPERTENSION 44.3 44.0
HEART DISEASE 17.1 22.0
NON-HISPANIC BLACK
ARTHRITIS 64.6 67.2
DIABETES 17.0 20.4
CANCER 4.6 9.1
STROKE 10.8 12.2
HYPERTENSION 59.3 58.7
HEART DISEASE 11.5 18.5
HISPANIC
ARTHRITIS 50.6 50.2
DIABETES 17.4 17.4
CANCER 6.2 10.5
STROKE 8.3 9.6
HYPERTENSION 46.9 42.0
HEART DISEASE 13.3 17.0
Note:  Hispanics may be of any race. 1984 percentages are age-adjusted to the 1995 population.
Reference population:  These data refer to the civilian noninstitutional population.
Source:  Supplement on Aging and Second Supplement on Aging.

Indicator 15 : Memory Impairment

TABLE 15:  PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS AGE 65 OR OLDER WITH MODERATE OR SEVERE MEMORY IMPAIRMENT, BY AGE GROUP AND SEX, 1998
MODERATE OR SEVERE MEMORY IMPAIRMENT SEVERE MEMORY IMPAIRMENT
TOTAL MEN WOMEN TOTAL MEN WOMEN
65 TO 69 4.4 5.3 3.8 0.9 0.8 0.9
70 TO 74 8.3 10.1 6.9 2.1 2.6 1.8
75 TO 79 13.5 16.2 11.7 5.2 6.4 4.4
80 TO 84 20.1 22.8 18.5 7.6 9.2 6.7
85 OR OLDER 35.8 37.3 35.0 18.3 19.6 17.6
Note:  Definition of moderate or severe memory impairment: Four or fewer words recalled (out of 20) on combined immediate and delayed recall tests. Persons are described as having severe memory impairment if two or fewer words are recalled. Respondents who reported “don’t know” on either the immediate or delayed recall test (implying that they were unable to recall any words) were assigned a score of zero for that test. Respondents who refused to participate in either test are excluded from the analysis.
Reference population: These data refer to the civilian noninstitutional population.
Source: Health and Retirement Study.

Indicator 16 : Depressive Symptoms

TABLE 16:  PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS AGE 65 OR OLDER WITH SEVERE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, BY AGE GROUP AND SEX, 1998
TOTAL MEN WOMEN
65 TO 69 15.4 12.1 18.0
70 TO 74 14.3 10.3 17.2
75 TO 79 14.6 10.4 17.4
80 TO 84 20.5 17.1 22.4
85 OR OLDER 22.8 22.5 23.0
Note: Definition of severe depressive symptoms: four or more symptoms out of a list of eight depressive symptoms from an abbreviated version of the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) adapted by the Health and Retirement Study.
Reference population: These data refer to the civilian noninstitutional population.
Source: Health and Retirement Study.

Indicator 17 :  Self-Rated Health Status

TABLE 17:  PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS AGE 65 OR OLDER WHO REPORTED GOOD TO EXCELLENT HEALTH, BY AGE GROUP, SEX, AND RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN, 1994 TO 1996
ALL PERSONS NON-HISPANIC WHITE NON-HISPANIC BLACK HISPANIC
TOTAL
65 OR OLDER 72.2 74.0 58.4 64.9
MEN
65 OR OLDER 72.0 73.5 59.3 65.4
65 TO 74 74.6 76.3 61.6 68.7
75 TO 84 68.3 69.4 56.4 59.7
85 OR OLDER 65.0 67.3 45.0 50.9
WOMEN
65 OR OLDER 72.4 74.3 57.8 64.6
65 TO 74 75.2 77.5 59.3 68.5
75 TO 84 69.8 71.7 55.3 59.3
85 OR OLDER 65.1 66.4 56.0 55.1
Note: Data are based on a three-year average from 1994 to 1996. Hispanics may be of any race.
Reference population: These data refer to the civilian noninstitutional population.
Source: National Health Interview Survey.

Indicator 18 :  Disability

TABLE 18A:  PERCENTAGE OF MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES AGE 65 OR OLDER WHO ARE
CHRONICALLY DISABLED, BY LEVEL AND CATEGORY OF DISABILITY, 1982 TO 1994
1982 1984 1989 1994
TOTAL
LEVEL AND TYPE OF DISABILITY
IADLS ONLY 5.5 5.8 4.7 4.3
1-2 ADLS 6.4 6.5 6.3 5.8
3-4 ADLS 2.8 2.9 3.5 3.2
5-6 ADLS 3.4 3.1 2.8 2.8
INSTITUTIONAL 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.1
TOTAL 23.7 23.7 22.7 21.1
TOTAL MEDICARE POPULATION (IN THOUSANDS) 26,920 28,060 30,870 33,130
MEN
LEVEL AND TYPE OF DISABILITY
IADLS ONLY 5.0 5.0 4.2 3.8
1-2 ADLS 5.1 4.8 4.5 4.3
3-4 ADLS 2.2 2.3 2.8 2.1
5-6 ADLS 3.3 2.9 2.3 2.2
INSTITUTIONAL 3.8 3.4 3.6 3.2
TOTAL 19.5 18.4 17.4 15.5
TOTAL MEDICARE POPULATION (IN THOUSANDS) 10,590 11,050 12,410 13,410
WOMEN
LEVEL AND TYPE OF DISABILITY        
IADLS ONLY 5.8 6.4 5.0 4.6
1-2 ADLS 7.2 7.5 7.6 6.8
3-4 ADLS 3.1 3.2 4.0 3.9
5-6 DLS 3.5 3.2 3.0 3.2
INSTITUTIONAL 6.9 6.9 6.7 6.4
TOTAL 26.5 27.2 26.2 24.9
TOTAL MEDICARE POPULATION (IN THOUSANDS) 16,340 17,010 18,460 19,710
Note:  National Long Term Care Survey researchers group tasks of daily living into two categories: activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, getting in and out of bed, getting around inside, dressing, bathing, and toileting; and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) such as heavy housework, light housework, laundry, preparing meals, shopping for groceries, getting around outside, traveling, managing money, and using a telephone. A person is considered to have an ADL or IADL disability if he or she is unable to perform the activity, uses active help to perform the activity, uses equipment, or requires standby help. A person is considered chronically disabled if he or she has one ADL limitation, one IADL limitation, or is institutionalized, and if any of these conditions has or is expected to last 90 days.
Reference population: These data refer to Medicare beneficiaries.
Source: National Long Term Care Survey.

TABLE 18B:  PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS AGE 70 OR OLDER WHO ARE UNABLE TO PERFORM CERTAIN PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS, BY SEX, 1984 AND 1995
1984 1995
MEN
WALK 12.9 12.3
CLIMB STAIRS 9.3 8.2
STOOP, CROUCH, OR KNEEL 11.5 9.7
REACH UP 3.4 3.0
ANY ONE OF NINE 22.5 19.6
WOMEN
WALK 20.9 17.8
CLIMB STAIRS 16.0 12.3
STOOP, CROUCH, OR KNEEL 20.2 16.3
REACH UP 5.6 3.9
ANY ONE OF NINE 34.3 28.9
Note: Rates for 1984 are age-adjusted to the 1995 population. The nine physical functioning activities are: walking a quarter mile; walking up ten steps without resting; standing or being on your feet for about two hours; sitting for about two hours; stooping, crouching or kneeling; reaching up over your head; reaching out as if to shake someone’s hand; using your fingers to grasp or handle; lifting or carrying something as heavy as ten pounds. A person is considered disabled if he or she is unable to perform an activity alone and without aids.
Reference population: These data refer to the civilian noninstitutional population.
Source: Supplement on Aging, Second Supplement on Aging.

TABLE 18C:  PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS AGE 70 OR OLDER WHO ARE UNABLE TO PERFORMANY ONE OF NINE PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS, BY SEX AND RACE, 1995
WHITE BLACK
TOTAL 24.6 32.6
MEN 19.2 26.9
WOMEN 28.2 36.0
Note:  The nine physical functioning activities are: walking a quarter mile; walking up ten steps without resting; standing or being on your feet for about two hours; sitting for about two hours; stooping, crouching or kneeling; reaching up over your head; reaching out, as if to shake someone’s hand; using your fingers to grasp or handle; lifting or carrying something as heavy as ten pounds. A person is considered disabled if he or she is unable to perform an activity alone and without aids.
Reference population: These data refer to the civilian noninstitutional population.
Source: Supplement Aging, Second Supplement on Aging.

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