Part
01
of seven
Part
01
Chronic Health Condition Demographic Profile
The demographic profile of a typical U.S. consumer who is at risk for chronic health conditions is that of an African American woman over the age of 65 who lives in a rural area, has an income of under $35,000 per year, and has a lower education level.
Age
- In 2017, the average prevalence rate for eight major chronic disorders was 28.1% for people over the age of 65 and 24.1% for people under the age of 65.
- The prevalence of most chronic health conditions is higher in older people than in younger people:
- For arthritis, the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 34.3% compared to 27.1% in people under the age of 65.
- For asthma, the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 4.6% compared to 7.9% in people under the age of 65.
- For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 11.6% compared to 12.4% in people under the age of 65.
- For depressive disorder, the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 15.4% compared to 31.2% in people under the age of 65.
- For diabetes, the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 27.4% compared to 26.6% in people under the age of 65.
- For heart disease, the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 28.8% compared to 16.9% in people under the age of 65.
- For hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 43.0% compared to 28.4% in people under the age of 65.
- For hypertension (high blood pressure), the prevalence rate in people over the age of 65 is 59.9% compared to 42.6% in people under the age of 65.
Gender
- Females in the U.S. are at higher risk of chronic health conditions than males.
- In 2017, males had an average prevalence rate for eight major chronic disorders of 26.4% compared with 28.3% for females.
- The prevalence of most chronic health conditions is higher in females than in males:
- For arthritis, the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 26.7% compared to 38.4% in U.S. females
- For asthma, the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 3.4% compared to 6.6% in U.S. females.
- For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the prevalence rate is the same for both U.S. males and females (11.7%).
- For depressive disorder, the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 13.0% compared to 22.0% in U.S. females.
- For diabetes, the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 28.0% compared to 25.9% in U.S. females.
- For heart disease, the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 32.4% compared to 22.4% in U.S. females.
- For hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 40.7% compared to 40.6% in U.S. females.
- For hypertension (high blood pressure), the prevalence rate in U.S. males is 55.6% compared to 58.4% in U.S. females.
Location
- People living in rural areas are at higher risk of chronic health conditions than people living in metropolitan areas.
- In 2016, 22.6% of people living in rural areas in the U.S. had 2-3 chronic conditions compared to 18.9% of people living in urban areas.
- The prevalence of most chronic conditions (except asthma) is higher in rural areas than in urban areas:
- In rural areas, 31.1% of people have arthritis compared with 25.1% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 13.9% of people have asthma compared with 14.0% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 8.7% of people have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with 6.3% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 20.1% of people have depressive disorder compared with 17.5% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 12.0% of people have diabetes compared with 10.4% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 8.6% of people have heart disease compared with 6.5% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 42.4% of people have hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) compared with 38.8% of people in urban areas.
- In rural areas, 38.1% of people have hypertension (high blood pressure) compared with 32.6% of people in urban areas.
Ethnicity/Race
- African Americans are at a higher risk of chronic health conditions than Asians/Pacific Islanders, white non-Hispanics, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and Hispanics.
- In 2017, African Americans had an average prevalence rate for eight chronic health conditions of 28.7% compared to 26.0% for Asians/Pacific Islanders, 27.6% for white non-Hispanics, 27.7% for American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and 27.8% for Hispanics.
- The prevalence of most chronic conditions is higher in African Americans than in other ethnicities and races:
- For arthritis, the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 33.9% compared to 32.3% in African Americans, 30.2% in Hispanics, 25.6% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 32.1% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For asthma, the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 4.9% compared to 7.1% in African Americans, 6.1% in Hispanics, 5.0% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 6.4% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 12.4% compared to 10.6% in African Americans, 8.5% in Hispanics, 7.0% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 13.0% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For depressive disorder, the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 18.7% compared to 15.3% in African Americans, 17.9% in Hispanics, 9.6% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 19.8% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For diabetes, the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 24.9% compared to 37.9% in African Americans, 38.8% in Hispanics, 36.8% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 39.6% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For heart disease, the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 27.7% compared to 24.4% in African Americans, 24.8% in Hispanics, 23.1% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 24.8% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 41.3% compared to 37.0% in African Americans, 40.1% in Hispanics, 43.5% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 31.3% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
- For hypertension (high blood pressure), the prevalence rate in white non-Hispanics was 56.7% compared to 64.9% of African Americans, 55.6% in Hispanics, 57.2% in Asians/Pacific Islanders, and 54.2% in American Indians/Alaskan Natives.
Income Level
- Poor adults in the United States are "five times as likely as those with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty level to report being in poor or fair health."
- Low-income Americans have higher prevalence rates of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions compared to higher-income Americans.
- People in the U.S. earning $35,000 or less are four times more likely to report being nervous and five times as likely to report being sad compared with people earning $100,000 or more.
- Lower-income Americans have higher rates of behavioral risk factors like smoking, obesity, and drug abuse than higher-income Americans.
Education Level
- According to Healthy People 2020, the "risk for chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity is higher among those with the lowest income and education levels."
- More educated Americans tend to "have less anxiety and depression, have fewer functional limitations, and are less likely to have a serious health condition like diabetes, cardiovascular disease or asthma."
Research Strategy
To find the demographic profile of U.S. consumers who are at risk for chronic health conditions, we began by searching official government reports or analysis of official government reports. This provided us with information on age, gender, location, and ethnicity. However, the data for location was limited to eight chronic conditions, which are arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depressive disorder, diabetes, heart disease, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), and hypertension (high blood pressure). As a result, we elected to only provide data on those eight conditions for the other characteristics to maintain consistency across analysis. The income level and education level were obtained from analyses of various government reports that are older, but remain relevant since they are still being used in current assessments. Note that the relevant Excel tables on the CMS website were converted to a shareable Google spreadsheet so they could be attached and cited in this research.
Calculations
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for people over the age of 65, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for people under the age of 65, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for males, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for females, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for whites non-Hispanics, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for African Americans, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for Hispanics, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for Asians/Pacific Islanders, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight:
To obtain the average prevalence rate for chronic conditions for American Indians/Alaskan Natives, we added all prevalence rates for the eight chronic conditions and divided by eight: