Find Your State Disability Prevalence

WASHINGTON-The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report of state-level data on the number of people with disabilities, and the wide range of health differences that exist between people with disabilities and those without. The new report, The Disability and Health State Chartbook, 2006-Profiles of Health for Adults with Disabilities, was released in September. Disability prevalence ranges substantially among the states-from a low of 11.4 per cent to a high of 25.8 per cent. People with disabilities make up about 20 per cent of the U.S. adult, non- institutionalized population.

"The findings in the Chartbook will allow states to measure their progress and will highlight the need to include people with disabilities in health promotion activities to reduce smoking, obesity and to increase physical activity," said Dr. José Cordero, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, in a statement. The Chartbook examines five health factors, including smoking, obesity, physical activity, immunizations and access to health care for adults ages 18 years and over in the 50 U.S. states, District of Columbia, and three territories.

Generally, people with disabilities are much more likely to report fair or poor health. The median percentage was 37.3 per cent of people with disabilities reporting fair or poor health compared to 8.2 per cent of those without disabilities reporting such health conditions. In addition, the findings in the Chartbook show that people with disabilities are also more likely to smoke, to be obese, and to not be physically active. However, these are health conditions and behaviors that can be improved.

The report lists states with the highest percentages of disability among adults, including West Virginia (25.8 per cent), Kentucky (24.7 per cent), and Oregon (23.7 per cent); and states with the lowest percentages of disability, including Hawaii (11.4 per cent), North Dakota (15.9 per cent), and Illinois (15.9 per cent). The Southeast region reports the poorest health for people with disabilities.

The data were collected from the 2001 and 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state- based system that obtains health information through telephone health surveys, with technical assistance provided by CDC. BRFSS is the largest telephone health survey system in the world, and there were more than 200,000 interviews conducted in each of these years.

The Chartbook is composed of over 100 pages of maps and charts. The resource section has phone numbers for state health offices and national organizations that promote healthy lives for people with disabilities. The brief narrative is presented in large 14- and 16- point print with high color contrast, so it is accessible for people with vision loss. People who use a screen reader can download accessible versions from the Web.

Source: CDC press release 01-08-07