Disability & Health U.S. State Profile Data for Massachusetts (Adults 18+ years of age)
Disability Impacts All of Us
Each of us may experience a disability in our lifetime.
CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities supports efforts to include adults with disabilities in disease prevention, health promotion, and emergency response activities, while working to remove barriers to health care and improve access to routine preventive services.
Disability costs in healthcare expenditures are $11.7 billion per year* in Massachusetts.
A Snapshot of Disability in Massachusetts
This page provides an overview of disability in Massachusetts (MA) compared to national estimates. You can use this information to learn more about the percentages and characteristics of adults with disabilities in Massachusetts.
Disability costs in healthcare expenditures are $11.7 billion per year* in Massachusetts.
Despite progress, adults with disabilities in Massachusetts and across the country continue to experience significant differences in health characteristics and behaviors compared to adults without disabilities.
Adults with disabilities are more likely to:
Be inactive
| U.S. | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with disabilities | 43.0% | 38.8% |
| Adults without disabilities | 24.3% | 21.0% |
Have high blood pressure
| U.S. | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with disabilities | 42.9% | 39.4% |
| Adults without disabilities | 26.8% | 24.5% |
Smoke
| U.S. | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with disabilities | 30.6% | 30.1% |
| Adults without disabilities | 14.6% | 11.1% |
Be obese
| U.S. | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with disabilities | 39.6% | 32.6% |
| Adults without disabilities | 25.3% | 20.1% |
Percentage of adults with select functional disability types: **
Types of disabilities comparing U.S. with Massachusetts
| U.S. | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Mobility: Serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. | 13.1% | 12.6% |
| Cognition: Serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions. | 10.8% | 12.3% |
| Independent living: Difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping. | 6.6% | 7.2% |
| Vision: Blind or serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses. | 4.7% | 3.9% |
| Self-care: Difficulty dressing or bathing. | 3.6% | 3.5% |
* Disability-associated healthcare expenditures are presented in 2006 dollars as reported in Anderson et al, 2010. This value represents approximately 28% of total healthcare expenditures for the state of Massachusetts.
** In 2013 and 2014, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) did not ask participants about deafness or serious difficulty hearing; however, BRFSS began collecting this information in 2016.
Visit Disability and Health Data System to find additional topics about the health and wellness of adults with disabilities in your state.
