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Explore national- and state-level data for hundreds of health, environmental and socioeconomic measures, including background information about each measure. Use features on this page to find measures; view subpopulations, trends and rankings; and download and share content.
Pennsylvania Value:
Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported their physical health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days
Pennsylvania Rank:
Additional Measures:
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Percentage of adults age 65 and older who reported their physical health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days
13.1% - 14.7%
14.8% - 16.4%
16.5% - 17.4%
17.5% - 18.7%
18.8% - 24.1%
No Data
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 2026.
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:
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:
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.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.
