Health: Health Status of Nonelderly Adults and Children

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Health status affects many aspects of people's daily lives. For adults, poor health can reduce earnings, increase expenses for medical care, and make it difficult to care for their families. For children, poor health can limit their ability to attend school regularly and to interact socially with other children. Although health status depends on heredity, environment, and a wide range of other factors, policy makers may be able to improve health status by increasing access to medical care.

Differences in health status were determined by asking adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to classify themselves or their spouse and their children as generally being in excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor health.

Nationally, 12 percent of adults and 5 percent of children under age 18 were in fair or poor health, a statistically significant difference. This discrepancy in health status was consistent both in families with low incomes (below 200 percent of the poverty level) and in those with higher incomes. However, health status among adults and among children varied widely across income groups. Among adults, 8 percent of those in higher-income families were in fair or poor health, compared to 23 percent of those in low-income families, a statistically significant difference. Only 2 percent of children in higher-income families were in fair or poor health, compared to 8 percent of children in low-income families, another statistically significant difference.

Across the 13 states surveyed, there was little difference in health status within the higher-income group. In no state did the percentage of children in fair or poor health exceed the national average for this income group, and only in Alabama did the percentage of adults exceed the national average. In three states, the percentage of higher-income adults with fair or poor health fell below the national average-Colorado, Massachusetts, and Minnesota.

Differences in health status were greater within the low-income group. The percentage of low-income adults in fair or poor health was significantly below the national average in Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. Low-income children in Minnesota and Wisconsin also appeared to be healthier than the national average, with 5 percent and 6 percent, respectively, in fair or poor health.

In four states, the proportion of low-income adults in fair or poor health exceeded the national average: Alabama, California, Mississippi, and Texas. California and Texas also had a greater-than-average proportion of low-income children in fair or poor health.

Note: The Portable Document Format (PDF) of this report includes all tables and charts.

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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