Prevalence of mobility and self-care disability--United States, 1990

An estimated 43 million persons in the United States have a disability; the estimated annual economic impact of disabilities--representing loss of wages, medical-care expenditures, and additional household expenditures--is approximately $176.7 billion. The Institute of Medicine recently recommended surveillance and systematic collection of information at the national and state levels to assist in program planning and evaluation for state-based programs for the prevention of disabilities and secondary conditions (i.e., health conditions resulting from a disability). To characterize state-specific disability patterns and better plan for funding of disability services, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and CDC assessed data from the 1990 census on two forms of disability: difficulty with mobility and self-care activities. This report summarizes the results of the assessment for persons aged > or = 16 years.