Disability and Functioning (Noninstitutionalized Adults Aged 18 and Over)
Data are for the U.S.
Selected sensory problems
- Number of adults with hearing trouble: 41.3 million
- Percent of adults with hearing trouble: 16.5%
- Number of adults with vision trouble: 32.2 million
- Percent of adults with vision trouble: 12.9%
Difficulties in physical functioning
- Number of adults unable (or very difficult) to walk a quarter mile: 19.4 million
- Percent of adults unable (or very difficult) to walk a quarter mile: 7.8%
- Number of adults with any physical functioning difficulty: 40.7 million
- Percent of adults with any physical functioning difficulty: 16.3%
Level of reported difficulty in six domains of functioning (seeing, hearing, mobility, communication, cognition, self-care)
- Number of adults aged 18 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 20.7 million (2017)
- Percent of adults aged 18 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 8.7% (2017)
- Number of adults aged 65 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 9.5 million (2017)
- Percent of adults aged 65 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 19.5% (2017)
Source: Health, United States, 2018, table 15 pdf icon[PDF – 9.8 MB]
Need help with personal care
- Percent of adults aged 65-74 who need help with personal care from other persons: 3.9%
- Percent of adults aged 75 and over who need help with personal care from other persons: 11.6%
Related FastStats
More data
- Trends in Functional Limitation from Health, United States
- Eye Disorders and Vision Loss Among U.S. Adults Aged 45 and Over With Diagnosed Diabetes, 2016–2017pdf icon[PDF – 481 KB]
- Self-reported Hearing Trouble in Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2014
Related Links
- National Health Interview Survey
- National Health Interview Survey on Disability
- Disability and Health Data System
- National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- National Institutes of Healthexternal icon
- National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)external icon
- Washington Group on Disability Statisticsexternal icon
Page last reviewed: May 3, 2017
Content source: CDC/National Center for Health Statistics