Falling Accidents In Older Adults

September 21, 2007

We have released a new report entitled Fall injury episodes among noninstitutionalized older adults: United States, 2001–2003.
fall.jpg 

From the report:

Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal medically attended injuries in the United States (1). Injuries caused by falls are more prevalent among adults aged 65 years and over compared with younger persons, occurring in 2005 at a rate of 76 episodes per 1,000 population among persons aged 65 years and over and 36 episodes per 1,000 population among persons under age 65 (CDC unpublished data, 2005). Annually, one in three Americans over age 65 years experiences a fall, and many of these falls are recurrent (2,3). Falls are associated with numerous morbidities, decreased quality of life, and high health care costs (4–6).

The report is available for download.

Leave a Comment » | elderly, falls, injury, National Center for Health Statistics | Permalink
Posted by billcrews

HIV Testing

September 14, 2007

Though the CDC has a center devoted to the study of HIV/AIDS, the National Center for Health Statistics produces data on HIV testing. The most comprehensive source is from the National Health Interview Survey’s Summary Health Statistics: US Adults.

Another comprehensive study is HIV Testing in the United States, 2002.

Leave a Comment » | AIDS, HIV, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey | Permalink
Posted by billcrews

US Life Expectancy At All Time High

September 12, 2007

A child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 78 years (77.9) – a new high – according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2005.” The report from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics is based on approximately 99 percent of death records reported in all 50 states and the District of Columbiafor 2005 and documents the latest trends in the leading causes of death and infant mortality.The increase in life expectancy represents a continuation of a long-running trend. Over the past decade, life expectancy has increased from 75.8 years in 1995, and from 69.6 years in 1955. more…

Link to the report here and to life expectancy data going back to 1900 here.

 International data, via the World Health Organization, can be found here.

Leave a Comment » | Deaths, life expectancy, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics System | Permalink
Posted by billcrews

Upcoming Publications. September, 2007

September 12, 2007

Most of our regular reports appear about the same time each year. In addition to those regular reports, such as those on births, deaths, etc., we also produce special reports and our researchers publish regularly in scholarly journals.

 Looking forward for the next several months, this is our schedule of publications.

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Posted by billcrews

Teen Suicide and Antidepressants

September 6, 2007

Today’s Washington Post carries a story based on an article from the journal American Journal of Psychiatry.

Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of the drugs. Now a new study has found that the drop coincides with an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides among children.

From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among Americans younger than 19 rose 14 percent, the most dramatic one-year change since the government started collecting suicide statistics in 1979, the study found. The rise followed a sharp decrease in the prescribing of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil after parents and physicians were confronted by a barrage of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and international agencies.

NCHS data on suicides among adolescents aged 10-14 and 15-19 is here.

Our data on antidepressant prescriptions is here. 

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Posted by billcrews

New Marriage and Divorce Data

September 5, 2007

Provisional marriage and divorce data for 2006 are available at the NCHS website.

Leave a Comment » | divorce rate, Marriage and Divorce, marriage rate, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics System | Permalink
Posted by billcrews

New Mortality Data for 2004

September 5, 2007

Our report Deaths: Final Data for 2004 is available at the NCHS website.

Results—In 2004, a total of 2,397,615 deaths were reported in the United States. The age-adjusted death rate was 800.8 deaths per 100,000 standard population, representing a decrease of 3.8 percent from the 2003 rate and a record low historical figure. Life expectancy at birth rose by 0.4 year to a record high of 77.8 years. Age-specific death rates decreased for all age groups. (The decrease for children aged 5–14 years was not statistically significant.) The 15 leading causes of death in 2004 remained the same as in 2003. Heart disease and cancer continued to be the leading and second leading causes of death, together accounting for over one-half of all deaths. In2004, Alzheimer’s disease surpassed and swapped positions with Influenza, relative to their previous placements in 2003. The infant mortality rate in 2004 was 6.79 per 1,000 births.

Conclusions—Generally, mortality patterns in 2004 were consistent with long-term trends. Life expectancy in 2004 increased again to a new record level. The age-adjusted death rate declined to a record low historical figure. Although not statistically significant, the decrease in the infant mortality rate is typical of recent trends; except for 2002, the infant mortality rate has either decreased or remained level each successive year from 1958 to 2004.

Leave a Comment » | Deaths, National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics System | Permalink
Posted by billcrews