Health Habits of Adults Aged 18-29 Highlighted in Report on Nation′s Health

Young adults in the United States aged 18-29 face a number of health challenges, including increases in obesity, high injury rates, and lack of insurance coverage compared to older adults, according to the latest report on the nation′s health.

Health, United States: 2008 is the 32nd annual edition of the report prepared by CDC′s National Center for Health Statistics, and includes a compilation of health data from a number of sources within the federal government and in the private sector. The report uses the most current data available at the time of publication.

This year′s edition features a special section on adults aged 18 to 29, a group making many life choices including decisions about education, marriage, childbearing, and health behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol use, which will affect both their future economic and health status.

Highlights of the report:

Obesity rates have tripled among young adults in the past three decades, from 8 percent in 1971-1974 to 24 percent in 2005-2006.

In 2006, 29 percent of young men were current cigarette smokers, compared to 21 percent of young adult women. Between 1997 and 2006, the percentage of women 18–29 years of age who currently smoked cigarettes declined nearly 20 percent. Current smoking did not decline significantly among young men.

In 2005, unintentional injuries or accidents, homicide, and suicide accounted for 70 percent of deaths among young adults 18–29 years of age. Three-quarters of the 47,000 deaths in this age group occurred among young men. Young adults also have the highest rate of injury-related emergency department visits of all age groups.

In 1999–2004, almost 9 percent of adults aged 20–29 reported having major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or panic disorder in the past 12 months.

In 2006, adults aged 20–24 were more likely to be uninsured (34 percent) than those aged 18–19 (21 percent) and 25–29 (29 percent).

In 2004–2006, 17 percent of adults aged 18–29 reported needing but not receiving one or more of the following services in the past year because they could not afford them: medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, or eyeglasses.

The full report contains 151 data tables in addition to the special feature on young adults. The tables cover the spectrum of health topics, serving as a comprehensive snapshot of the nation′s health.

Other highlights:

In 2006, American men could expect to live 3.6 years longer, and women 1.9 years longer, than they did in 1990. Death rates from heart disease, stroke and cancer have continued to decline in recent years.

Sixty-five percent of men and 80 percent of women aged 75 and older reported having high blood pressure or were taking high blood pressure medication in 2003–2006, compared to about 36 percent of adults aged 45–54.

The proportion of the population with high cholesterol levels has been dropping, in large part due to increased use of cholesterol-lowering drugs. In 2003–2006, 16 percent of adults had high cholesterol. Women aged 55 and over were much more likely to have high cholesterol than their male counterparts.

Approximately 25 percent of adults aged 60 and over had diabetes in 2003-2006.
Obesity rates do not appear to be increasing as rapidly as they did in past decades, but remain high, with over a third of adults age 20 and over considered to be obese in 2005–2006.

The full report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs.

CDC Encourages Screening for Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancers

Getting screened for some cancers can actually help prevent them from occurring. In particular, screening helps prevent cancers of the cervix, colon and rectum. Screening also helps find other cancers – such as breast cancer – at an early stage, when treatment can be most effective.
Because some cancers are found early and treatment options have improved, more and more people are living many years after a diagnosis. There are an estimated 10 million cancer survivors in the United States.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women in the United States. Having regular mammograms is the best way to detect breast cancer at an early stage, when treatment often is more effective and can reduce the risk of dying from the disease. It is recommended that women aged 40 years or older be screened using mammography every one to two years. On average, this screening test is about 80-90 percent effective at detecting breast cancer in its earliest stages.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States. It affects both men and women and risks increase with advancing age. More than 90 percent of colorectal cancers occur in adults aged 50 years or older.

Screening should begin at age 50. Those who think they’re at increased risk should speak with their doctors about when to begin screening. Screening is recommended using one or more of these tests:

Colonoscopy, Fecal occult blood test (stool test), Flexible sigmoidoscopy, and Double-contrast barium enema.

Screening helps find precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) in the colon and rectum, so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening can also find colorectal cancer early, when treatment often leads to a cure.

Cervical cancer once was the leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. But during the past four decades, deaths from this disease have declined significantly, mostly because of widespread use of the Pap test. This test can find abnormal cells in the cervix. If a Pap test shows there are abnormal cells that could become cancerous, a woman can be treated. In most cases, this treatment prevents cervical cancer from developing. Pap tests also can find cervical cancer early. When it is found early, the chance of being cured is very high.

What You Can Do

For adult women:

Get a mammogram every one to two years beginning at age 40.

Get a Pap test at least every three years, within three years of onset of sexual activity—or at age 21, whichever comes first.

For men and women aged 50 years or older:

Speak with your doctor about getting screened for colorectal cancer, using one or more of the recommended screening tests, which are: colonoscopy, fecal occult blood test (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, and double contrast barium enema. Generally, if results from an FOBT, sigmoidoscopy, or barium enema show there may be a problem, a colonoscopy will be necessary as a follow-up procedure, as that is the only test that allows a doctor to both examine the entire colon and to remove most precancerous polyps and abnormal growths.

If you have questions about the various screening tests, please speak with your doctor.

Through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides access to free or low cost screening to women who are under- or uninsured. In addition, CDC is funding colorectal cancer screening pilot programs in five sites in the United States. To learn more about these programs and about cancer prevention and control, call 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit http://www.cdc.gov/cancer.

Reproduced with the kind permission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention