Half of American Adults Have A Chronic Health Condition

Almost half of all adult Americans have hypertension, high cholesterol or diabetes, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in eight (13%) had two of these conditions, and 3% had all three chronic conditions as of 2006. That equates to some 100 million people???45% of the U.S.???s adult population of 225 million in 2006.

Report, which was released in April and available on the CDC web site, also found that 15% of adults with one condition do not know it, and African-Americans are more likely than other ethnicities to have one of the conditions, whether it be diagnosed or undiagnosed.

???Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes are all chronic conditions associated with cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States,??? stated the report.

And, while race and ethnic differences in health care and chronic diseases have already documented, the combination of all three conditions has never before been identified on such a large scale, according to the report. One reason for the lack of data on the health status of U.S. adults is the fact that studies typically rely on self-reports, which inherently result in lower-than-actual estimates.

Data for the CDC report was taken from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a cross-sectional survey that monitors the health and nutritional status of the U.S. population.

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By Radha McLean
Hyattsville : MD : USA