Prevalence of Disability and Disability Type Among Adults — United States, 2013

• Published in: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report Vol. 64; no. 29; pp. 777 - 783
• Main Authors: Courtney-Long, Elizabeth A., Carroll, Dianna D., Zhang, Qing C., Stevens, Alissa C., Griffin-Blake, Shannon, Armour, Brian S., Campbell, Vincent A.
• Format: Journal Article Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: United States Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 31.07.2015; U.S. Government Printing Office; U.S. Centers for Disease Control
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Aged; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Cognition Disorders - epidemiology; Disabled Persons - psychology; Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data; Female; Humans; Independent Living - statistics & numerical data; Male; Middle Aged; Mobility Limitation; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Self care (Health); Self Care - statistics & numerical data; United States - epidemiology; Vision Disorders - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States
• ISSN: 0149-2195; 1545-861X
• DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.MM6429a2

Understanding the prevalence of disability is important for public health programs to be able to address the needs of persons with disabilities. Beginning in 2013, to measure disability prevalence by functional type, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), added five questions to identify disability in vision, cognition, mobility, self-care, and independent living. CDC analyzed data from the 2013 BRFSS to assess overall prevalence of any disability, as well as specific types of disability among noninstitutionalized U.S. adults. Across all states, disabilities in mobility and cognition were the most frequently reported types. State-level prevalence of each disability type ranged from 2.7% to 8.1% (vision); 6.9% to 16.8% (cognition); 8.5% to 20.7% (mobility); 1.9% to 6.2% (self-care) and 4.2% to 10.8% (independent living). A higher prevalence of any disability was generally seen among adults living in states in the South and among women (24.4%) compared with men (19.8%). Prevalences of any disability and disability in mobility were higher among older age groups. These are the first data on functional disability types available in a state-based health survey. This information can help public health programs identify the prevalence of and demographic characteristics associated with different disability types among U.S. adults and better target appropriate interventions to reduce health disparities.