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QuickStats: Percentage* of Adults Aged ≥18 Years in Fair or Poor Health,† by Family Income§ and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2021¶
Weekly / March 31, 2023 / 72(13);350
Abbreviation: FPL = federal poverty level.
* With 95% CIs indicated by error bars.
† Based on a response of “fair” or “poor” to the question, “Would you say your health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?” The percentage of adults aged ≥18 years in fair or poor health was 13.6%.
§ Income was calculated as a percentage of FPL, which is based on family income and family size, using the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds.
¶ Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population.
In 2021, 13.6% of adults aged ≥18 years assessed their health as fair or poor. The percentage increased with age from 6.9% for those aged 18–44 years, to 16.8% for those aged 45–64 years, and 22.6% for those aged ≥65 years. The same pattern of increasing percentages with age was found for adults living in families with incomes 100% to <200% of FPL and ≥200% of FPL. For adults living in families with incomes <100% of FPL, the percentage in fair or poor health was lowest among those aged 18–44 years (16.2%), but similar among adults aged 45–64 years (42.8%) and those aged ≥65 years (43.0%). The percentage of adults in fair or poor health decreased with increasing incomes for each age group.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/index.htm
Reported by: Nazik Elgaddal, MS, nelgaddal@cdc.gov; Ellen A. Kramarow, PhD.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years in Fair or Poor Health, by Family Income and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:350. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7213a6.
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