Summary health statistics for the U.S. population: National Health Interview Survey, 2008

This report presents both age-adjusted and unadjusted health statistics from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States, classified by sex, age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin and race, education, family income, poverty status, health insurance coverage (where appropriate), place of residence, and region of residence. The topics covered are respondent-assessed health status, limitations in activities, special education or early intervention services, injury and poisoning episodes, health care access and utilization, and health insurance coverage.

NHIS is a household, multistage probability sample survey conducted annually by interviewers of the U.S. Census Bureau for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. In 2008, household interviews were completed for 74,236 persons living in 28,790 households, reflecting a household response rate of 84.9%.

Nearly 7 in 10 persons were in excellent or very good health in 2008. About 37 million persons (12%) were limited in their usual activities due to one or more chronic health conditions. About 4 million persons (2%) required the help of another person with activities of daily living, and about 9 million persons (4%) required the help of another person with instrumental activities of daily living. About 6% of children received special education or early intervention services. Among persons under age 65 years, about 44 million (17%) did not have any health insurance coverage. The most comrnon reason for lacking health insurance was cost, followed by a change in employment.