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QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage* of Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Serious Psychological Distress During the Past 30 Days,† by Family Income§ — National Health Interview Survey, 2021¶
Weekly / March 24, 2023 / 72(12);325
Abbreviation: FPL = federal poverty level.
* Age-adjusted percentages are based on the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau standard population, using age groups 18–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years, with 95% CIs indicated by error bars.
† Serious psychological distress is based on responses to six questions, “During the past 30 days, how often did you feel 1) so sad that nothing could cheer you up, 2) nervous, 3) restless or fidgety, 4) hopeless, 5) that everything was an effort, or 6) worthless?” The response options “none of the time,” “a little of the time,” “some of the time,” “most of the time,” and “all of the time” were each scored from 0–4 points, respectively, and then summed for a total score ranging from 0–24 points. A value of ≥13 was used to define serious psychological distress. Only respondents who answered all six questions were included in the analysis.
§ Family income groups were defined based on family income as a percentage of the federal poverty threshold. Poverty thresholds, which are published by the U.S. Census Bureau, vary by family size and the number of children in the family. Family income was imputed when missing using multiple imputation methodology.
¶ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population.
In 2021, 3.8% of adults aged ≥18 years had serious psychological distress during the past 30 days. The age-adjusted percentage of adults who had serious psychological distress decreased with increasing family income, from 8.9% of adults with family income <100% of FPL, to 5.8% of adults with family income 100%–199% of FPL, to 3.8% of adults with family income 200%–399% of FPL, and to 2.0% of adults with family income ≥400% of FPL.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/index.htm
Reported by: Jessly Joy, MPH, oys4@cdc.gov; Johanna M. Alfier, MPH; Deepthi Kandi, MS.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Serious Psychological Distress During the Past 30 Days, by Family Income — National Health Interview Survey, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:325. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7212a5.
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