Summary health statistics for the U.S. population: National Health Interview Survey, 2012

This report presents both age-adjusted and unadjusted health statistics from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. Estimates are disaggregated by sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, 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, 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 2012, household interviews were completed for 108,131 persons living in 42,366 households.

Nearly 7 in 10 persons were in excellent or very good health in 2012. About 40 million persons (12%) were limited in their usual activities due to one or more chronic health conditions. About 5 million persons (2%) required the help of another person with activities of daily living, and about 10 million persons (4%) required the help of another person with instrumental activities of daily living. Among persons under age 65, about 45 million (17%) did not have any health insurance coverage. The most common reason for lacking health insurance was cost, followed by a change in employment.