Older Persons' Health

(Data are for the U.S.)

 

Population

• Number of residents age 65 and over: 41.4 million (2011)

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 1 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

 

Life expectancy

• Men at 65 years: 17.7 years
• Women at 65 years: 20.3 years

Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2010, table 7 [PDF - 3.1 MB]

 

Health status

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over in fair or poor health: 24.7% (2011)

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 50 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over who need help with personal care from other persons: 7.3%

Source: Early release of selected estimates based on data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey, data tables for figure 12.2

 

Health risk factors

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over who currently smoke cigarettes: 7.9%

Source: Early release of selected estimates based on data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey, data tables for figure 8.3

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons who are obese (2007-2010)
  • Men age 65-74: 41.5%
  • Men age 75 and over: 26.6%
  • Women age 65-74: 40.3%
  • Women age 75 and over: 28.7%

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 68 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over with diabetes (physician-diagnosed and undiagnosed): 28.5% (2007-2010)

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 45 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons with hypertension (2007-2010)
  • Men age 65-74 years: 64.1%
  • Men age 75 and over: 71.7%
  • Women age 65-74: 69.3%
  • Women age 75 and over: 81.3%

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 64 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

 

Health care utilization

Ambulatory care

• Number of visits (to physician offices, hospital outpatient and emergency departments) by persons age 65 and over: 298.4 million

Sources: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Summary Tables, table 3 [PDF - 382 KB]
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables, table 2 [PDF - 330 KB]
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Emergency Department Summary Tables, table 2 [PDF - 481 KB]
(data shown are based on summing estimates across these 3 tables)

Hospital inpatient care

• Number of discharges from nonfederal short-stay hospitals by persons age 65 and over: 13.6 million

Source: National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2010 table, Number and rate of hospital discharges [PDF - 34 KB]

• Average length of stay in nonfederal short-stay hospitals by persons age 65 and over: 5.5 days

Source: National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2010 table, Average length of stay and days of care - Number and rate of discharges by sex and age [PDF - 38 KB]

Nursing home care

• Number of nursing home residents age 65 and over: 1.3 million
• Nursing home residents per 10,000 persons age 65 and over:  363

Source: The National Nursing Home Survey: 2004 Overview, table 5 [PDF - 2.7 MB]

Home health care

• Current patients age 65 and over: 1.0 million (2007)

Source: Home Health Care and Discharged Hospice Care Patients: United States, 2000 and 2007, table 1 [PDF - 430 KB].

Hospice care

• Hospice care discharges age 65 and over: 868,100 (2007)

Source: Home Health Care and Discharged Hospice Care Patients: United States, 2000 and 2007, table 5 [PDF - 430 KB]

Dental care

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over with a dental visit in the past year: 61.2% (2011)

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 90 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

Preventive care

• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over who ever had a pneumococcal vaccination: 62.3%
• Percent of noninstitutionalized persons age 65 and over who had an influenza vaccination in the past 12 months: 67.0%

Source: Early Release of Selected Estimates based on data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey, table 4.1b, data table for figure 5.1

• Percent of noninstitutionalized women age 65 and over who had a mammogram in the past 2 years: 64.4% (2010)

Source: Health, United States, 2012, table 82 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

 

Mortality

• Number of deaths of persons age 65 and over: 1,798,276
• Deaths per 100,000 population:
  • 65-74: 1,875.1
  • 75-84: 4,790.2
  • 85 and over: 13,934.3

Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2010, tables 10, 11 [PDF - 3.1 MB]

• Leading causes of death of persons age 65 and over:
  • Heart disease
  • Cancer
  • Chronic lower respiratory disease

Source:  Deaths: Leading Causes for 2009, table 1 [PDF - 2.5 MB]

 

More data

• AgingStats.gov
• Comparability Between the Rates for All-listed Inpatient Procedures Using National Hospital Discharge Survey and Medicare Claims, 1999 and 2007 [PDF - 1 MB]
• Early Release of Selected Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey
• Health Characteristics of Medicare Traditional Fee-for-Service and Medicare Advantage Enrollees: 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Linked to 2007 Medicare Data [PDF - 177 KB]
• Health Data Interactive
• Health, United States, trend tables with data on older population age 65 years and over
• National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Summary Tables [PDF - 404 KB]
• National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Emergency Department Summary Tables [PDF - 544 KB]
• National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables [PDF - 375 KB]
• Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2011 [PDF - 1.3 MB]
• Summary Health Statistics for the U.S. Population: National Health Interview Survey, 2011 [PDF - 1 MB]
• Vision, Hearing, Balance, and Sensory Impairment in Americans Aged 70 Years and Over: United States, 1999-2006
• National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2010 Data highlights – selected tables