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Frequent Physical Distress - Age 65+ in United States
United States
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United States Value:
17.0%
Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported their physical health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days
Frequent Physical Distress - Age 65+ in depth:
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Frequent Physical Distress - Age 65+ by State
Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported their physical health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days
Frequent Physical Distress - Age 65+ in
Data from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2023
<= 14.8%
14.9% - 16.5%
16.6% - 17.5%
17.6% - 18.7%
>= 18.8%
No Data
Frequent Physical Distress - Age 65+
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2023
About Frequent Physical Distress - Age 65+
US Value: 17.0%
Top State(s): North Dakota: 13.1%
Bottom State(s): West Virginia: 24.1%
Definition: Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported their physical health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2023
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2025.
Frequent physical distress is based on self-reported poor physical health days. The measure aims to capture the population experiencing persistent and likely severe physical health problems, which may significantly impact health-related quality of life and overall wellness. The cutoff point of 14 or more days of self-reported poor physical health during the past month is a threshold accepted and used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Frequent physical distress is associated with chronic health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is also associated with smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, populations with a higher prevalence of frequent physical distress include:
- Multiracial, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic older adults compared with white and Asian older adults.
- Older adults with less than a high school education compared with those with higher levels of education; college graduates have the lowest prevalence.
- Older adults with an annual household income less than $25,000, who have a prevalence more than 2.5 times that of adults with an income of $75,000 or more; the prevalence is lower with each increase in income level.
- Older adults who live in nonmetropolitan areas compared with those in metropolitan areas.
- Older adults who have difficulty with self-care have a prevalence more than 9.5 times higher than older adults without a disability.
Strategies to manage frequent physical distress among older adults include exercise interventions that increase physical activity and encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors. Additionally, older adults can take care of their physical health by:
- Eating a diet full of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.
- Getting enough sleep.
- Quitting smoking at any age will lower the risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke and lung disease.
- Limiting alcohol intake.
- Going to the doctor for regular check-ups.
Chia, Fan, Wei-Yang Huang, Hsuan Huang, and Cheng-En Wu. “Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Older Adults to Optimize Health-Promoting Lifestyle: An Intervention Study.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 2 (January 16, 2023): 1628. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021628.
Dwyer-Lindgren, Laura, Johan P. Mackenbach, Frank J. van Lenthe, and Ali H. Mokdad. “Self-Reported General Health, Physical Distress, Mental Distress, and Activity Limitation by US County, 1995-2012.” Population Health Metrics 15, no. 1 (April 26, 2017): 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-017-0133-5.
Slabaugh, S. Lane, Mona Shah, Matthew Zack, Laura Happe, Tristan Cordier, Eric Havens, Evan Davidson, Michael Miao, Todd Prewitt, and Haomiao Jia. “Leveraging Health-Related Quality of Life in Population Health Management: The Case for Healthy Days.” Population Health Management 20, no. 1 (2017): 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1089/pop.2015.0162.
Stellefson, Michael, Samantha R. Paige, Adam E. Barry, Min Qi Wang, and Avery Apperson. “Risk Factors Associated with Physical and Mental Distress in People Who Report a COPD Diagnosis: Latent Class Analysis of 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Data.” International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 14 (April 2019): 809–22. https://doi.org/10.2147/COPD.S194018.
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