U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

Health of Hispanic Adults: United States, 2010–2014

Jacqueline W. Lucas, M.P.H, Gulnur Freeman, M.P.A., and Patricia F. Adams

Key findings

Data from the National 

Health Interview Survey, 

2010–2014

● Overall, Puerto Rican adults 

consistently reported poorer 

health status than non-Hispanic 

adults.

● Puerto Rican (19.2%) and 

Mexican (17.4%) adults were 

more likely than Central or 

South American (12.3%) and 

Cuban (14.7%) adults to be in 

fair or poor health.

● Puerto Rican adults (27.3%) 

were more likely than Central 

or South American adults 

(16.6%) to have had multiple 

chronic conditions.

● Puerto Rican adults (6.2%) 

were nearly twice as likely to 

report serious psychological 

distress in the past 30 days 

compared with Central or South 

American adults (3.3%). 

● Puerto Rican adults (11.4%) 

were more likely than Central 

or South American (2.9%), 

Cuban (3.9%), and Mexican 

(4.8%) adults to be unable to 

work due to health problems.

There are 54 million Hispanic persons living in the United States, making 

them the largest minority group in the country (1). Disaggregated data on 

Hispanic subgroups are needed to understand the health of Hispanic persons 

of diverse backgrounds (2). This report presents selected estimates of health 

measures for all Hispanic adults aged 18 and over and for the following four 

Hispanic subgroups: Central or South American, Cuban, Mexican, and Puerto 

Rican adults. Comparisons are also made across the subgroups and with the 

non-Hispanic U.S. adult population as a whole. 

Keywords: health status • chronic conditions • disparities • National Health 

Interview Survey

Did the age-adjusted percentage of adults who were in fair or 

poor health vary among Hispanic subgroups?

● Puerto Rican (19.2%) and Mexican (17.4%) adults were more likely than 

Central or South American (12.3%) and Cuban (14.7%) adults to be in 

fair or poor health (Figure 1). 

 

Figure 1. Age-adjusted percentage of adults aged 18 and over who were in fair or poor 

health, by ethnicity and Hispanic subgroup: United States, 2010–2014

1

Significantly different from non-Hispanic U.S. population (p < 0.05). 2

Significantly different from Mexican (p < 0.05). 3

Significantly different from Puerto Rican (p < 0.05). 4

Significantly different from Central or South American (p < 0.05). 

NOTES: Age-adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75 

and over. Access data table for Figure 1 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db251_table.pdf#1.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2010–2014.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

■  2  ■

● The age-adjusted percentage of Hispanic adults (16.8%) with fair or poor health was higher 

compared with non-Hispanic U.S. adults (11.9%).

● Cuban, Mexican, and Puerto Rican adults were all more likely than non-Hispanic U.S. 

adults to be in fair or poor health. 

● No significant difference was observed in the prevalence of fair or poor health between 

Central or South American adults and non-Hispanic U.S. adults.

Did the age-adjusted percentage of adults with multiple chronic conditions 

differ among Hispanic subgroups?

● Puerto Rican (27.3%) and Mexican (20.8%) adults were more likely to have two or more 

chronic conditions—including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, 

arthritis, hepatitis, emphysema, weak or failing kidneys, or asthma—compared with Central 

or South American (16.6%) and Cuban (18.6%) adults (Figure 2).

● The age-adjusted percentage of Hispanic adults (20.8%) who have had multiple chronic 

conditions was lower compared with non-Hispanic U.S. adults (24.6%).

● Central or South American, Cuban, and Mexican adults were less likely to have had multiple 

chronic conditions compared with non-Hispanic U.S. adults, but Puerto Rican adults were 

more likely than non-Hispanic U.S. adults to have had multiple chronic conditions.

Figure 2. Age-adjusted percentage of adults aged 18 and over who had multiple chronic conditions, by ethnicity and 

Hispanic subgroup: United States, 2010–2014

1

Significantly different from non-Hispanic U.S. population (p < 0.05). 2

Significantly different from Mexican (p < 0.05). 3

Significantly different from Puerto Rican (p < 0.05). 4

Significantly different from Central or South American (p < 0.05). 

NOTES: Age-adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75 and over. Access data table for 

Figure 2 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db251_table.pdf#2.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2010–2014.

 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

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Did the age-adjusted percentage of adults with serious psychological 

distress vary among Hispanic subgroups?

● The age-adjusted percentage of serious psychological distress in the past 30 days was higher 

among Puerto Rican adults (6.2%) compared with Central or South American (3.3%), 

Cuban (3.7%), and Mexican (3.9%) adults (Figure 3).

● Puerto Rican adults (6.2%) were nearly twice as likely to report serious psychological 

distress in the past 30 days compared with Central or South American adults (3.3%).

● Hispanic adults (4.1%) were more likely to have had serious psychological distress in the 

past 30 days compared with non-Hispanic U.S. adults (3.2%). 

● There were no significant differences in the age-adjusted percentages of adults with serious 

psychological distress among Central or South American, Cuban, and Mexican adults. 

There was also no significant difference between these groups and the non-Hispanic U.S. 

population.

Figure 3. Age-adjusted percentage of adults aged 18 and over who had serious psychological distress, by ethnicity and 

Hispanic subgroup: United States, 2010–2014

1

Significantly different from non-Hispanic U.S. population (p < 0.05). 2

Significantly different from Puerto Rican (p < 0.05). 

NOTES: Age-adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75 and over. Access data table for 

Figure 3 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db251_table.pdf#3.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2010–2014.

 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

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Did the age-adjusted percentage of adults who were unable to work due to 

health problems differ among Hispanic subgroups?

● Puerto Rican adults (11.4%) were more likely than Central or South American (2.9%), 

Cuban (3.9%), Mexican (4.8%), and non-Hispanic U.S. (6.8%) adults to be unable to work 

due to health problems (Figure 4).

● Mexican adults were more likely to be unable to work due to health problems compared 

with Central or South American adults.

● Hispanic adults (5.2%) were less likely than non-Hispanic U.S. adults (6.8%) to be unable 

to work due to health problems.

Figure 4. Age-adjusted percentage of adults aged 18–64 who were unable to work due to health problems, by ethnicity 

and Hispanic subgroup: United States, 2010–2014

1

Significantly different from non-Hispanic U.S. population (p < 0.05). 2

Significantly different from Mexican (p < 0.05). 3

Significantly different from Puerto Rican (p < 0.05). 

NOTES: Age-adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75 and over. Access data table for 

Figure 4 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db251_table.pdf#4.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2010–2014.

 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

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Did the age-adjusted percentage of adults who had a social participation 

restriction differ among Hispanic subgroups?

● After age adjustment, Puerto Rican adults (6.3%) were more likely than Central or South 

American (3.1%), Cuban (3.1%), Mexican (4.7%), and non-Hispanic U.S. (3.9%) adults to 

have had a social participation restriction (Figure 5).

● Mexican adults were more likely than Cuban and Central or South American adults to have 

had a social participation restriction.

● Hispanic adults (4.4%) were more likely than non-Hispanic U.S. adults (3.9%) to have had a 

social participation restriction. Central or South American (3.1%) and Cuban (3.1%) adults 

were equally as likely to have had a social participation restriction, and both groups were 

less likely than non-Hispanic adults to have had a social participation restriction.

Figure 5. Age-adjusted percentage of adults aged 18 and over who had a social participation restriction, by ethnicity and 

Hispanic subgroup: United States, 2010–2014

1

Significantly different from non-Hispanic U.S. population (p < 0.05). 2

Significantly different from Mexican (p < 0.05). 3

Significantly different from Puerto Rican (p < 0.05). 

NOTES: Age-adjusted by the direct method to the 2000 U.S. Census population using age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75 and over. Access data table for 

Figure 5 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db251_table.pdf#5.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2010–2014.

 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

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Summary 

This report provides national estimates of fair or poor health, multiple chronic conditions, serious 

psychological distress, inability to work due to health reasons, and social participation restrictions 

for four subgroups of Hispanic adults aged 18 and over in the United States. Compared with 

non-Hispanic U.S. adults, Hispanic adults had higher rates of fair or poor health, social 

participation restrictions, and serious psychological distress, but they had lower rates of being 

unable to work due to health reasons and having multiple chronic conditions. 

The U.S. Hispanic population consists of individuals originally from various countries in 

North America, Central or South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Although the Hispanic 

population in the United States may share a common language, there is considerable variation 

among subgroups in terms of cultural background, socioeconomic status, and care-seeking 

behaviors. 

These analyses showed that Central and South American adults had similar or better health 

than the non-Hispanic U.S. population, while Puerto Rican adults had worse health than the 

non-Hispanic U.S. population. Puerto Rican adults were also generally more likely to have 

poorer health compared with other Hispanic subgroups, and Central or South American adults 

were generally less likely to have poorer health compared with other Hispanic subgroups. 

The findings in this report are consistent with previous studies, which show disparities among 

Hispanic subgroups (3,4), and highlight the importance of considering Hispanic subgroups when 

examining Hispanic health. 

Definitions

Fair or poor health status: Family respondents were asked to assess the health of all family 

members, specifically, whether their “health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or 

poor?” When the sample adult is not the family respondent, this information is reported by a 

proxy.

Multiple chronic conditions: Based on a positive response to two or more of the separate survey 

questions that assess chronic conditions, including whether adults had ever been told by a doctor 

or other health professional that they had hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, 

cancer, arthritis, hepatitis, or emphysema; had experienced weak or failing kidneys or chronic 

bronchitis during the past 12 months; or currently had asthma (5).

Serious psychological distress: Based on responses from six separate survey questions about how 

often a respondent felt sad, nervous, restless, hopeless, that everything was an effort, or worthless 

during the past 30 days. The response codes (0–4) for each of the six items are summed to yield 

a scale with a 0–24 range. A value of 13 or more for this scale is used here to define serious 

psychological distress (6). Adults with missing data for any of the six psychological distress 

questions were excluded from the calculation of the serious psychological distress indicator for 

this analysis (about 1.5% of respondents from 2010 to 2014). 

Unable to work: Based on the questions, ‘‘Does a physical, mental, or emotional problem now 

keep [family members 18 years of age or older] from working at a job or business?’’ and for 

persons not kept from working, ‘‘Are [family members 18 years of age or older] limited in the 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

■  7  ■

kind or amount of work they can do because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem?’’ For 

this report, the age group is limited to those aged 18–64. When the sample adult is not the family 

respondent, this information is reported by a proxy.

Social participation restriction: Respondents who reported “very difficult” or “can’t do at all” 

to either of the following survey questions were defined as having had social participation 

restriction: “By yourself, and without using any special equipment, how difficult is it for you 

to (a) go out to things like shopping, movies, or sporting events, and (b) participate in social 

activities such as visiting friends, attending clubs and meetings, or going to parties?”

Data source and methods 

Data from the 2010–2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were used for this 

analysis. NHIS data are collected continuously throughout the year by the National Center for 

Health Statistics. NHIS collects information about the health and health care of the civilian 

noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Interviews are conducted in respondents’ homes, but followups to complete interviews may be conducted by telephone. 

In 2010–2014, information was collected on a total of 165,950 sample adults aged 18 and over. 

There were 28,880 Hispanic adults in the Sample Adult files, including 17,392 Mexican or 

Mexican American, 4,723 Central or South American, 2,846 Puerto Rican, 1,484 Cuban, and 

2,435 other Hispanic adults. These groups comprise 60.2%, 16.4%, 10.0%, 5.0%, and 8.0% 

of the Hispanic population, respectively. To control for differences in age distributions within 

Hispanic subgroups and the effect of age on the health characteristics studied here, estimates 

were age-adjusted using the projected 2000 U.S. population from the U.S. Census Bureau as 

the standard population and the following age groups: 18–44, 45–64, 65–74, and 75 and over. 

Estimates for adults aged 18–64 were age-adjusted using age groups 18–24, 25–44, and 45–64. 

Differences between percentages were evaluated using two-sided significance tests at the p < 0.05 

level. All differences reported are statistically significant unless otherwise indicated. For further 

information about NHIS, including the questionnaire, visit the NHIS website at: http://www.cdc.

gov/nchs/nhis.htm. 

 NHIS is designed to yield a nationally representative sample, and this analysis used the sample 

adult weight to produce national estimates. Data weighting procedures are described elsewhere 

(7). Estimates for this analysis were calculated using SUDAAN software (8). 

About the authors 

Jacqueline W. Lucas, Gulnur Freeman, and Patricia F. Adams are with the National Center for 

Health Statistics, Division of Health Interview Statistics.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 251 ■ June 2016

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau. Facts for features: Hispanic Heritage Month 

2014: Sept. 15–Oct. 15. Washington, D.C. 2014. Available from: http://

www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/facts-for-features/2014/

cb14ff-22_hispanic.pdf.

2. Daviglus ML, Talavera GA, Avilés-Santa ML, Allison M, Cai J, Criqui 

MH, et.al. Prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular 

diseases among Hispanic/Latino individuals of diverse backgrounds in the 

United States. JAMA 308(17):1775–84. 2012. 

3. Dominguez K, Penman-Aguilar A, Chang MH, et.al. Vital signs: Leading 

causes of death, prevalence of diseases and risk factors, and use of health 

services among Hispanics in the United States—2009–2013. MMWR Morb 

Mortal Wkly Rep 64(17):469–78. 2015. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/

mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6417a5.htm. 

4. Hajat A, Lucas JB, Kington R. Health outcomes among Hispanic 

subgroups: United States, 1992–95. Advance data from vital and health 

statistics; no. 310. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health 

Statistics. 2000. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad310.pdf. 

5. Goodman RA, Posner SF, Huang ES, et.al. Defining and measuring 

chronic conditions: Imperatives for research, policy, program, and 

practice. Prev Chronic Dis. 2013. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/

issues/2013/12_0239.htm. 

6. Kessler RC, Barker PR, Colpe LJ, Epstein JF, Gfoerer JC, Hiripi E, et 

al. Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Arch Gen 

Psychiatry 60(2):184–9. 2003.

7. Parsons VL, Moriarity CL, Jonas K, et al. Design and estimation for the 

National Health Interview Survey, 2006–2015. National Center for Health 

Statistics. Vital Health Stat 2(165). 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.

gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_165.pdf. 

8. RTI International. SUDAAN (Release 11.0.0) [computer software]. 2012.

Suggested citation

Lucas JW, Freeman G, Adams PF. Health of 

Hispanic adults: United States, 2010–2014. 

NCHS data brief, no 251. Hyattsville, MD: 

National Center for Health Statistics. 2016.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in 

the public domain and may be reproduced 

or copied without permission; citation as to 

source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health 

Statistics

Charles J. Rothwell, M.S., M.B.A., Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate 

Director for Science

Division of Health Interview Statistics 

Marcie L. Cynamon, Director

Stephen J. Blumberg, Ph.D., Associate 

Director for Science

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