2017 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium

Section 7: Health
This section presents statistics on health in the United States, especially the health of people with disabilities. Specifically, the data address the prevalence of disabilities, health behaviors such as smoking, binge drinking, obesity, and health insurance coverage by disability status. These statistics were generated by the authors using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Disability and Health Data System for more detailed information on the health of the population with disabilities. Statistics for people with disabilities (disability status) are based on having responded ‘yes’ to a series of questions within the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. See the glossary for more details.
Tables
Table 7.1: In 2016, there were 239,368,830 individuals ages 18 and over living in the community, and 61,444,813 had a disability (25.7 percent). The state with the largest number of individuals with disabilities was California, with 6,479,729 individuals with disabilities, while the state with the smallest number of individuals with disabilities was Alaska, with 100,857 individuals with disabilities.
Table 7.2: In 2016, individuals (ages 18 years and over) with disabilities were more likely to smoke (24.6 percent) than adults without disabilities (13.5 percent). Adults with disabilities were most likely to smoke in Missouri (34.0 percent) and least likely to smoke in Utah (15.0 percent).
Table 7.3: In 2016, individuals (ages 18 years and over) with disabilities were more likely to be obese (38.9 percent) than adults without disabilities (26.4 percent). Adults with disabilities were most likely to be obese in Alabama (43.8 percent) and least likely to be obese in Hawaii (29.6 percent).
Table 7.4: In 2016, individuals (ages 18 years and over) with disabilities were less likely to binge drink (13.1 percent) than adults without disabilities (18.3 percent). Adults with disabilities were most likely to binge drink in Wisconsin (21.6 percent) and least likely to binge drink in Mississippi (7.0 percent).
Table 7.5: In 2016, individuals ages 18 and over with disabilities in Kentucky were most likely to have health insurance coverage (94.9 percent), while individuals ages 18 and over with disabilities in Texas were least likely to have health insurance coverage (79.8 percent).