From Vital and Health Statmtlcs of the National Center for Health Statlstlcs Number 115. May 1, 1986 

f%OPERTY OF lHE “ 

PUBLICATIONSEMANCH 

EDfTORIAL LIBRARY 

Aging in the Eighties


Preliminary Data From the Supplement on Aging to the National Health Interview


Survey, United States, January–June 1984


by M. G. Kovar, Dr. P. H., Office of Interview and Examination Statistics 

Introduction 

The National Health Interview Survey is the National 

Center for Health Statistics’ large continuing survey of the 

_civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. 

‘ach year people in about 42,000 households are interviewed 

}j U.S. Bureau of the Census interviewers to obtain infor­

—	 mation about their health and use of health care. Demographic 

information that is needed to interpret the data is also obtained. 

The interviewers have special training on this survey in addition to their regular training, and response rates are high— 

about 97 percent. The only item with a relatively low response 

rate is family income. 

In 1984 a special supplement was added to the questionnaire to obtain information about elderly people who were 

living in the community. This supplement, the Supplement on 

Aging (SOA), was designed to collect information about physical limitations, chronic conditions, housing, retirement status, 

interactions with family and organizations, use of community 

services, and other health-related information about rniddleaged and older people. 

All household members age 65 years and over and a half 

sample of those 55–64 years of age were asked the questions 

on the supplement themselves where possible. Another household member was interviewed only when the selected person 

was unable to answer either because of physical or mental 

problems or because of being away from the household for a 

longer period than the interviewer would be in the area. Response rates to the SOA were also high. Of the 5,982 people 

age 65 years and over who were in interviewed households in 

Tanuary-June 1984, 96 percent had complete interview 92 

rcent answered the questions on the SOA for themselves. 

0 The data in this report are from the interviews that were 

completed during the first 6 months of 1984. The data are 

preliminmy because only one-half of the year is included and 

because the data from the SOA have not been edited Including 

the full year will double the size of the sample and make estimates more reliable. It will also eliminate any possibiliv of 

bias because of seasonality. Editing will change some of the 

estimates from the SOA that are in the text because information from other parts of the questionnaire or from other 

family members will be used to correct missing or inconsistent 

information. 

The preliminary data about people age 65 years and over 

are being published because the need for information about the 

elderly is critical, and 5,982 people is a large enough sample to 

make estimates that are reliable for many purposes. The reader 

should use the material in the technical appendix before deciding that differences not mentioned in the text are likely to be 

statistically significant. The number of people in the sample is 

@en in each table in addition to the national population estimates that are the base of the percentages to make that simple. 

The primary purpose of this report is to provide background data. Much of the information could be obtained from 

other publications based on data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The tables are unique only in their 

focus on a particular population of interest. 

The information is presented in the tables for three age 

groups. The data for people age 85 years and over are shown 

separately because the number of people in this age group is 

increasing rapidly and because relatively little is known about 

them. However, the reader should remember that there were 

only 448 people in this half-year of the sample who had had an 

85th birthday. Differences between them and younger people 

that appear to be large may not be statistically or even substantively significant. 

Information is also presented for both men and women 

because the older population is primarily a population of older 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service 
2 advancedata 

women, who are more likely to live alone or to be disabled than 

men the same age. Some of the differences in the distributions, 

therefore, are both interesting and important. 

A secondary purpose of this report is to reveal the variation among people classified as elderly. All of the information 

is presented as percent distributions rather than as means or 

medians. Such measures of central tendency are important, but 

they conceal variability. 

Other information in the text is from the SOA. That information will be examined in more detail when the final edited 

data for the full year are available. 

Residential characteristics 

In early 1984 there were approximately 26 million people 

age 65 years and over in the United States who were living in 

communities outside of nursing homes or other institutions 

(table 1). Four percent were living in retirement communities. 

One-third of them lived in the South. One-fourth lived in 

the North Central region, and the Northeast and the West each 

had about one-fifth of the people age 65 years and over. About 

63 percent lived in a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area 

( SMSA); 27 percent were within and 36 percent were outside 

the central city. The remaining 37 percent lived outside an 

SMSA. 

Almost all (97 percent) had a telephone or gave a telephone number where they could be called. Most of them live 

in houses or apartments. However, 6 percent lived in mobi 

homes. o 

Most had been living in exactly the same place for many — 

years. About two-thirds, 63 percent, had not moved during the 

past 10 years. One-third had not moved for 25 years or more. 

About 22 percent had moved into the house, apartment, or 

mobile home that they were now occupying during the past 5 

years. 

Demographic characteristics 

The majority of the peop!e age 65 years and over living in 

the community (16 million) were ages 65 –74 years, about 8 

million were ages 75–84 years, and the remaining 2 million 

were age 85 years and over. The majority, 59 percent, were 

women. The percent who were women was higher at older than 

at younger ages—57, 62, and 71 percent at ages 65–74, 

75–84, and 85 years and over, respectively, reflecting the 

higher death rates among men. Ninety-one percent were white; 

8 percent were black. 

Their level of education was relatively low (table 2). About 

half of the people age 65 years and over had not completed 12 

years of education; 35 percent had not gone beyond the eighth 

Table 1. Percent distribution of people age 65 years and over living in the community by selected residential characte, ktics, according to age 

and sex: United States, January-June 1984 

65– 74 years 75 years and over 

Age 

Sex Sex 

Both Both 75-84 85 years 

Residential characteristic Total sexes Men Women sexes Men Women years and over 

Number 

Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,982 3,731 1,625 2,106 2,251 822 1,429 1,803 448 

Number in thousands 

Estimated population, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,290 16,227 7,048 9,178 10,063 3,685 6,378 8,073 1,990 

Percent distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Geographic region 

22.1 23,0 22.3 23.6 20.5 20.3 20.6 20.7 19.4 

25.8 25.1 26.0 24.5 26.9 25.4 27.7 26.2 29.7 

33.1 33.1 32.4 33.7 33.1 34.4 32.3 34.1 29.0 

19.0 18.7 19.3 18.2 19.6 19.9 19.4 ?9.0 22.0 

Residence 

Standard metropolitan statistical area . . . . . 63.3 64.1 63.4 64.6 62.3 58.9 64.2 62.4 62.2 

Central ity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.3 27.3 25.9 28.4 27.4 24.2 29.3 27.4 27.7 

Outside central city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.0 36.8 37.5 36.2 34.9 34.7 34.9 35.0 34.5 

Outside standard metropolitan statistical area . . . . 36.6 35.9 36.6 35.4 37.7 41.1 35.7 37.7 37.8 

Housing 

House or apartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.5 93.5 94.5 92.8 93.3 92.3 94.0 93.0 94.8 

Mobile home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9 5.9 5.2 6.5 5.9 6.8 5.4 6.2 4.7 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.8 0. 

Telephone service @ 

Had a telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97.1 97.3 96.5 98.0 96.7 95.7 97.3 97.0 95.4 

Didnothave a telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9 2.7 3.5 2.0 3.3 4.3 2.7 3.0 4.6 
achanceckta 3 

Table 2. Percent distribution of people age 65 years and over living in the community by selected demographic characteristics, according to 

age and sex United States, January-June 1984 

Demographic characteristic 

Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Estimated population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

All other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Marital statusl 

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Wtdowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Divorced orseparated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Never married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Family size 

I person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

With a nonrelative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Other relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

3ormore people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

3 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

4or more people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

EducationT 

O-8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

9-n years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

13years or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Usual activity 

Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Keeping house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

65-74 years 75 years and over 

Age 

Sex Sex 

Both Both 75-84 85 years 

Total sexes Men Women sexes Men Women years and over 

Number 

5,982 3,731 1,625 2,106 2,251 822 1,429 1,803 448 

Number in thousands 

26,290 16,227 7,048 9,178 10,063 3,685 6,378 8,073 1,990 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

90.4 90.2 90.6 89.9 90.7 90.1 91.1 90.2 92.9 

8.3 8.4 7.9 8.7 8.1 8.1 8.0 8.5 6.2 

1.3 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.2 1.7 0.9 1.3 0.9 

.54.7 63.3 80.3 50.3 40.9 70.4 23.8 46.2 19.3 

34.1 25.0 8.3 37.8 48.8 21.6 64.5 43.1 71.9 

6.3 6.9 6.2 7.4 5.4 4.4 6.0 5.8 3.7 

4.4 4.4 4.8 4.0 4.4 3.1 5.2 4.3 4.9 

32.2 26.4 13.9 36.0 41.4 21.3 53.1 39.7 48.4 

30.5 24.8 12.3 34.4 39.7 20.6 50.7 38.4 45.0 

1.7 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.8 0.7 2.4 1.4 3.3 

53.0 58.1 67.0 51.2 44.9 65.9 32.9 48.1 31.9 

46.0 52.2 63.8 43.3 35.8 62.0 20,8 40.6 16.7 

7.1 5.8 3.2 7.8 9.1 3.9 12.1 7.6 15.3 

14.8 15.5 19.1 12.8 13.6 12.9 14.1 12.1 19.7 

8.9 9.6 12.1 7.6 7.7 8.4 7.3 6.8 11.2 

5.9 6.0 6.9 5.2 5.9 4.4 6.8 5.3 8.5 

34.6 29.7 32.1 27.9 42.5 45.1 41.0 41.1 48.1 

16.8 17.6 16.8 18.2 15.6 15.5 15.7 16.1 13.6 

28.1 31.7 26.9 35.4 22.4 19.7 23.9 22.8 20.4 

18.6 19.6 22.8 17.2 17.0 17.3 16.9 18.0 13.2 

10.7 14.8 20.8 10.2 3.9 6.8 2.3 4.5 1.8 

42.8 42.1 4.0 71.4 43.9 5.2 66.2 44.7 40.4 

46.6 43.1 75.2 18.4 52.2 88.0 31.5 50.8 57.8 

e 

1Marital status was unknown for 0.5 percent and level of education waa unknown for 1.8 percent. 

grade. However, about one ffi were college graduates. The 

older people had, on the average, less formal education than 

those who were younger. For example, 48 percent of those 

who were age 85 years and over in contrast with 30 percent of 

those ages 65-74 years had not gone beyond eighth grade. The 

mean number of years of completed education was 10.8, 10.1, 

and 9.6 years for those ages 65–74, 75–84, and 85 years of 

age and over. The difference in the level of education reflects 

both the lower levels that were common when the oldest people 

e‘ere young and the differential death rates; more highly edcated people survive longer than people with less education. 

However, the large demographic differences between the 

people ages 65–74 years and those who were oldef were in 

their working status, marital status, and living arrangements. 

About 15 percent of the people ages 65–74 years gave 

“working” as their usual activity. In contras+ only 5 percent of 

those ages 75–84 years and 2 percent of those age 85 years 

and over were usually working. 

The majority of the youngest people were married and 

living with a spouse. But the majority of the people who had 

had an 85th birthday and who were living in the community 

were widowed. 

The proportion living alone was higher in each successive 

age group. These data are cross-section~ relationships can 

only suggest cause and effect. The data suggest that many of 

the oldest people living alone had remained in the same home 

after the death of a spouse. The largest group of people ages 

65–74 years, 52 percent, lived in a two-person family with a 
4 ZKklncedata 

spouse. Only 17 percent of those age 85 years of age and over 

were still living with a spouse in their own quarters. However, 

most of the widowed people living alone had not moved recently. Information from the SOA revealed that63 percent had 

lived in their present quarters for 10 years or more; only 19 

percent had moved within the last 5 years. 

Health status 

The majority of people in each of the three age groups age 

65 years and over living in the community were in good health 

on each of three measures of health status: perceived health 

status, bed days, and limitation of activity. There was, however, a shift towards poorer health with increased age (table 

3). 

Sixty-seven percent of the people rated their health as 

good or better on a five-point scale: 16 percent as excellent, 19 

percent as very good, and 32 percent as good. However, 21 

percent were in fair health and 12 percent were in poor health 

according to themselves or the person most likely to know 

about them. 

Sixty-two percent had not been confined to bed for a single 

day during the previous year. Another 14 percent had spent 

Jess than a week in bed. The remaining 24 percent had spent a 

week or more in bed over the course of the year, including 10 

percent who had been in bed for 4 weeks or more. 

Sixty percent had no limitation on their usual activitie 

Most * of the others were partially limitea 11 percent were completely unable to perform their usual activities. It was this 

measure that showed the greatest discrepancy between the 

youngest and the oldest people. Among people age 65–74 years, 

62 percent had no limitation of activity and 12 percent were 

unable to perform their usual activity. In contrast, among those 

age 85 years and over, 40 percent had no limitation and 22 

percent were unable to perform their usual activity. This large 

decrease in fimctioning with increased age confums and reinforces other information on specific limitations in the activities 

of daily living from the NHIS. 1‘2 

The general good health (even among those 85 years and 

over, 40 percent had no limitation of activity and 72 percent 

rated their health as good or better) is partially because healthy 

older people are more likely to remain in the community than 

those in extremely poor health. It should not be taken as evidence that the health of the total population age 65 years and 

over is good, especially that paxt of the population age 85 years 

and over. A sizable fraction, 23 percent in 1977, of the people 

age 85 years and over are in nursing homes, and the health of 

people in nursing homes is generally poor.3 

Table 3. Percent distribution of people age 65 years and over living in the community by selected health characteristics, according to age and 

sex: United States, January-June 1984 

Health characteristic 

Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Estimated population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Perceived health statusl 

Excel lent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Very good. ,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Bed days in year 

0	 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

l-6 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

7–13 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

14-27 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

28–365 days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Always . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Limitation of activity 

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Outside activities only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Kind oramount of activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Unable to perform usual activity. . . . . . . . . . . 

65– 74 years 75 years and over 

Age o 

Sex Sex 

Both 

Total sexes Men 

5,982 3,731 1,625 

26,290 16,227 7,048 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

15.6 15,5 16.3 

19.2 19.6 19.2 

31,9 32.5 31.2 

21.4 21.4 20.6 

11.5 10.6 12.5 

62.2 63.5 64.4 

13.8 14.5 13.9 

7.1 6.7 6.B 

6.6 6.5 6.1 

8.9 7.8 7.8 

1.4 1.0 1.0 

59.8 61.5 60.0 

15.2 14.5 14.2 

13.6 12.4 9,9 

11.4 11,6 15.9 

Both 

Women sexes Men 

Number 

2,106 2,251 822 

Number in thousanda 

9,178 10,063 3,685 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

14.8 15.8 16.3 

20.0 18.6 17.7 

33.5 30.8 30.2 

22.1 21.3 21.3 

9.2 13.0 13.8 

62.8 60.2 61.6 

15.0 12.7 11.8 

6.6 7.7 7.3 

6.7 6.9 7.0 

7.8 10.7 10.8 

1.0 1,9 1.5 

62.6 57.0 59.3 

14.8 16.2 20.2 

14.4 15.6 10.7 

8.2 11.2 9.8 

75-84 85 years 

Women years and over 

1,429 1,803 448 

6,378 8,073 1.990 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

15.4 15.9 15.4 

19.0 18.3 19.6 

31.2 32.0 26.3 

21.2 20.8 23.0 

12.5 12.4 15.3 

59.4 61.3 55.8 

13.2 12.9 12.1 

7.9 7.4 8.7 

6.8 7.0 6.3 

10.6 9.9 13.9 

2.2 1.6 3.4 

55.6 61.3 

13.9 16.8 

18.5 13.4 

12.0 8.6 22.0 

1Health status was unknown for 0.5 Dercent. 
Health o~inions 

There were questions on the SOA designed to allow people oo give their opinions about their health, their level of physical 

activity, and changes within the past year. Optional responses 

were part of each question, and check boxes were provided for 

the interviewer to record the responses. The questions were 

asked only of the 5,167 people who answered all the questions 

on the SOA for themselves. They could differ fi-om other people 

whose answers to other parts of the SOA were from proxy 

respondents. For example, of the 815 people who did not 

answer for themselves, 60 percent were recorded as being 

physically or mentally incapable. The proportion unable to 

perform their usual activity and the proportion in poor health 

were 15 percent of the proxy versus 11 percent of the selfrespondents. However, the proportion not limited in activity 

and the proportion in excellent health were equal in the two 

groups. Thus, there is some indication that the self-respondents 

are a select group, but those who did not answer for themselves 

were certainly not all incapacitated. 

They were first asked, “How good a job do you feel you are 

doing in TAKING CARE of your health?” Nine out of 10 

thought they were doing a good job, with 24 percent excellent, 

32 percent very good, and 34 percent good. Most of the remainder felt they were doing a fair job, very few felt they were 

doing a poor job. The majority felt they had control over their 

future health, 35 percent felt they had a great deal of control, and 

6 percent felt they had some control. Only 8 percent felt they 

d very little control, and 7 percent felt they had no control. 

*	 Most of the self-respondents had not worried much about 

their health in the past year. In response to the question about 

the amount of worry their health had caused them in the past 

year, 49 percent reported no worry at all and 16 percent had 

had hardly any worry. However, 27 percent had had some 

worry and 8 percent had had a great deal. 

When asked about their physical activity compared with 

others the same age, 44 percent of the people responding for 

themselves considered themselves more active “and 43 percent 

felt their level of activity was about the same as other people 

their age. Of those who thought themselves more active than 

their peers, the majority, 63 percent, felt that they were a lot 

more active. 

When asked to compare their present level of physical 

activity to their own activity a year earlier, most reported that 

it was about the same. Only 8 percent felt they were more 

active and 18 percent felt they were less active. However, 58 

percent of those with decreased physical activity said that it 

was only a little less. 

The majority, 58 percent, felt they got as much exercise as 

needed. In response to other questions, 29 percent followed a 

regular routine of physical exercise and 14 percent walked at 

least a mile every day without resting. However, 71 percent of 

them did not follow a remlar routine of ~hvsical 

. . exercise and

percent never walked a mile or more without resting. 

@ Use of health care 

About four out of five (82 percent) of the people who were 

65 years of age or over had seen a physician within the preachtancedata 5 

vious year (table 4). Another 6 percent had seen a physician 

within 2 years. However, 12 percent of these people had not 

seen a physician for more than 2 years despite their being at an 

age when the risk of need for medical care is high. 

Most of them appeared to have received relatively routine 

medical care judging by the number of contacts they had had 

with physicians during the previous year. They had seen a 

physician but, on the average, not more than every other month 

or so, that is, they had had 1–6 contacts during the year. Only 

8 percent had had 13 contacts or more with a physician during 

the year. 

Perceptions of health were highly associated with the 

amount of medical care. The people who had not seen a physician within a year generally rated their health higher than 

those who had seen a physician. For example, 26 percent of 

those who had not seen a physician rated their health as excellent, 22 percent as very good, and 32 percent as good. 

Seventy-seven percent had no limitation on their usual activity. 

In contras~ the majority of the people with seven or more visits 

during the year rated their health as only fair or poor and only 

34 percent had no limitation on their usual activity. 

The dhTerence between the youngest and oldest age groups 

in the proportion who had been hospitalized during the preceding year was large and programmatically significant in this 

population of people of an age to be Medicare eligible. Overall, 

about 20 percent of the people age 65 years and over who were 

living in the community at the time they were interviewed had 

been in a hospital overnight or longer during the preceding 

year. However, only 18 precent of those ages 65–74 years in 

contrast with 29 percent of those age 85 years and over had 

been hospitalized during the year. When one considers that 

hospitalization rates are much higher in the year preceding 

death or institutionalization,+6 and that the experience of such 

people is excluded from the retrospective data from NHIS, 

these differences assume added importance. 

Discussion 

In general, older people living in the community show only 

a slight decline in health status with increasing age. Responses 

to only one of the three general questions about health status 

revealed a difference. Responses to the questions about ambulatory contacts with physicians also showed little difference 

with age. However, the responses to questions about limitation 

of activity and use of hospital care did show differences among 

the people in the three age groups. A relatively large proportion 

of the oldest part of the population of people age 65 years and 

over remaining in the community were functionally impaired or 

had used inpatient medical care during the previous year. 

However, the proportion is only relatively large. The general picture of people who have had a 65th birthday is that of a 

population of people who vary a great deal among themselves. 

Sixty percent of the people age 65 years and over and 40 percent of those age 85 years and over were not limited in activity. 

Eighty-two percent and 71 percen~ respectively, had not been 

hospitalized during the previous year. The population consisted 

of people who were college graduates as well as those who had 
6 advancedata 

Table 4. Percent distribution of people age 65 years and over living in the community by selected health care uae characteristics, according 

to age and sex: United States, January-June 1984 

65– 74 years 75 years and over 

Age 

Sex Sex 

Both 

Health care use Total sexes Men 

Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,982 3,731 1,625 

Estimated population . . . . . . . . . . . 26,290 16,227 7,048 

Total, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Hospitalizations in year 

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

1 ..............................


2 or more.,.,,....,.....,,, ., ..,,,.,.,..,,,. 

Interval since last doctor contactl 

Less than l year, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


l–2 years....,......,.....,,.


2–5 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


5years or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Number of doctor contacts in year! 

None, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


l–2 contacts,....,,......,,. . . . . . . . . . . . .


3-6 contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


7–12 contacts...,,,.....,,. .


13–24 contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


25contacts or more . . . . . . . . . . . .


100.0 100.0 100.0 

79.5 82.0 80.8 

14.4 12.6 12.5 

6.1 5.4 6.8 

80.7 79.4 /8;:: 6.4 6.6 

7.0 7.8 8.3 

4.0 4.3 5.0 

18.6 19.7 21.2 

27.8 28.9 28.8 

31.7 30.3 30.2 

13.2 13.0 12.7 

4.9 4.9 4.3 

3.3 2.9 2.6 

Both 

Women sexes Men 

Number 

2,106 2,251 822 

Number in thousands 

9,178 10,063 3,685 

Percent distribution 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

83.0 75.3 74.5 

12.7 17,4 18,2 

4,3 7,3 7.2 

81.8 83.9 83,4 

6.2 6,0 6.0 

7.5 5.8 6.8 

3.7 3.5 3.5 

18.5 17.0 17.7 

29.0 26.1 28.7 

30.4 34.0 33.6 

13.3 13.4 11.8 

5.3 4.8 3.4 

3.2 3.8 4.2 

75-84 85 years 

Women years and over 

1,429 1,803 448 

6,378 8,073 1,990 

100.0 100.0 100.0 

75.7 76.3 71.3 

16.9 16.8 19.8 

7.3 6.9 8.9 

84.2 83.6 85.2 

6.0 6.2 5.4 

5.2 5.9 5.6 

3.5 3.8 2.3 

16.5 17.1 16.4 

24.6 26.1 26.1 

34.3 34.1 33.8 

14.4 13.0 15.1 

5.6 5.1 3.8 

3.6 3.8 3.7 -0 

TInterval was unknown for 0.8 percent, and number of visits was unknown for 0,5 percent, 

not gone beyond eighth grade. They lived in all parts of the 

country, in big cities and rural areas, in houses, apartments, 

and mobile homes. Many people were living alone, but many 

others were living with a spouse. 

The measures of health reflect generally good health. The 

References 

lNation~ Center for Health Statistics, B. A. Feller Arnericrms needing 

home care, United States. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 10, No. 

153. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 86–1 581. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Mar. 1986. 

2Nationrd Center for Health Statistics, J. Fulton and G. Hendershot: 

Functional limitation of older Americans, Provisional data from the 

National Health Interview Survey, United States, January-June 1984. 

Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics. DHHS Pub. No. 

(PHS) 86-1250. Public Health Service. Hyattsville, Md. To be pub 

Iished. 

3National Center for Health Statistics, J. F. Van Nostrand, A. Zap 

polo, E. Hing, et al. The National Nursing Home Survey, 1977 Summary for the United States. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 13, 

No. 43. DHEW Pub. No. (PHS) 79– 1794. Public Health Service. 

Washington. U.S. Government Printing Otllce, July 1979. 

health opinions of those answering for themselves, 94 percent of 

the sample, also reflected a positive attitude towards their 

health on the part of many older people. Most felt that they 

were taking care of their health, had not worried about it during 

the past year, and had some control over their future health. 

qNational Center for Health Statistics: Use and costs of Medicare 

services in the last years of life, by J. Lubhz end FL Prihoda. Health 

United States, 1983, DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 84-1232. Public Health 

Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Dec. 1983. 

5Health Care Financing Administration, C. Hebling Medicare Use 

end reimbursement for aged persons by survival statms, 1979. Heahh 

Care Financing Notes. HCFA Pub. No. 03166. Office of Research 

and Demonstrations, Baltimore, Md. Nov. 1983. 

GM. G. Kov~. Health of elderly people living in the communitY in 

1980. lfilbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 64(1), Feb. 1986. 

7National Center for Health Statistics, M. G. Kovar and G. 

The National Health Interview Survey design, 1973–84, end procedures, 1975–83. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 1, No. 

S. Poe 

18. 

�

DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 85-1320. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, Aug. 1985. 
ackmeMa7 

Technical notes 

Q Each week a probability sample of households in the 

nited States is visited by U.S. Bureau of the Census interviewers to obtain a wide range of information about the health 

and health care characteristics of the people living in those 

households. A description of the survey design, methods used 

to make the national estimates, and general qualifications of 

the data are provided in The National Health interview Sz.mey 

Des&n, 1973–84, and Procedures, 1975–83. 7 

In January-June 1984 there were about 21,000 households in the sample. The total noninterview rate was about 3 

percent—mostly because the interviewer was unable to locate 

an eligible respondent despite repeated calls. 

The rules for the survey are that all adults who are in the 

household when the interviewer calls are asked to join in the 

interview and to respond for themselves. People age 65 years 

and over are likely to be at home and are, thus, more likely to 

respond for themselves to the questions on the basic, or core, 

questiomaire. During the first 6 months of 1984, 84 percent 

answered the questions themselves. 

For the Supplement on Aging (SOA), the interviewers 

made an additional effort to encourage the people selected to 

answer the SOA questions and to respond for themselves. 

They encouraged the household respondent to ask an older 

person to talk to the interviewer and if necessary, made extra 

calls. The results of their efforts were both positive and nega­

“ve. The positive result was that an even higher proportion, 92 

ercent, of the responses to the SOA were completely self 

responses. The negative result was that in a few cases information was obtained from a household respondent for the core 

questions but no information was obtained for the supplement. 

Fortunately the latter was rare; 5,629 of the 5,982,95 percent, 

of the people age 65 years and over who were in the sample 

during January-June had complete interviews on the supplement. 

The estimates in this report are based on a sample rather 

than on the entire population of people age 65 years and over 

in the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Therefore, the 

estimates are subject to sampling error. In addition, the sample 

had a complex design that has the effect of making the sampling 

errors somewhat larger than they would be from a simple random sample of the same size using the same proceduresA conservative estimate is that on the average, the variance for estimated proportions from this sample is 20 percent 

larger than it would have been from a simple random sample of 

the same size using the same procedures. 

To estimate the sampling errors, convert the percent to a 

proportion, calculate the variance of a proportion assuming 

simple random sampling, multiply that variance by 1.2 to allow 

for the complex sample, then compute standard errors, confidence intervals, or significance tests. 

Tf2 A listof references follows the text. 

For example, the estimate is that 45 percent of the 1,990 

thousand people age 85 years and over lived alone. There were 

448 people in the sample age 85 yearn and oveq therefore, 

Variance (simple random sample) =: 

_ 

— (0.45)(0.55)

448 

= 0.0006 

Variance (complex sample) = (0.0006)(1.2) 

= 0.0007 

Standard error = (0.0007)% 

= 0.0257 

95 percent conildence interval =45*(1.96)(2.57) 

=45 * 5 percent. 

Because the estimation procedure includes poststratification to independent U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates, there 

is no sampling error for the number of people age 65 years and 

over—either for the total or for either sex.7 The only sampling 

error is in the numerator. Therefore, the sampling errors for 

those groups are somewhat smaller than estimated by this 

method. 

Perhaps more important for interpretation than sampling 

errors, however, is a thorough understanding of what data from 

this, or any other, cross-sectional survey can provide. There 

are two issues—one important for any cross-sectional analysis 

and the other of especial importance for older people. 

The NHIS is a point-in-time study. Associations at one 

point in time should not be interpreted as causality. The differences among the age groups, for example, could be the result 

of aging or, alternatively, they could be the result of different 

cohorts moving through time. Based on external knowledge, 

one could interpret a difference in health status as the result of 

aging and a difference in educational status as the result of 

cohort diRerences, but the data from a cross-sectional survey 

do not enable one to make that distinction. 

The second is that this is a study of people who were living 

in the community at the time they, or a proxy respondent, were 

interviewed. All of those elderly people who had Iefl the population, either through death or institutionalization, are excluded. 

Thus, the estimate that 20 percent of the elderly people had 

been hospitaked during the preceding year should not be interpreted to mean that only 20 percent of all elderly people had 

been hospitalized during the year. Hospitalization rates are 

high during the year preceding death or institutionalization,4,6 

and the experience of those people is not included in these 

estimates. 

e 
8 adwmdda 

Recent 1ssues of A dvance Data From Vital and Health Statistics 

No. 114. Prevalence, impact, and demography of known diabetes in No. 111. An Overview of the 1982 National Master Facility Inverr 

the United States (Issued February 1986) 

No. 113. Provisional Data From the Health Promotion and Disease 

Prevention Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey: 

United States, January-March 1985 (Issued November 1985) 

No. 112.1984 Summary: National Hospital Discharge Survey (Issued September 1985) 

Suggested citation 

National Center for Health Statistics, M. G. Kovar: 

Aging in the eighties, preliminary data from the 

Supplement on Aging to the National Health 

Interview Survev, United States, January–June 

1984, Advance “Data From Vital and Health 

Statistics. No. 115. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 

86–1 250. Public Health Service, Hyattsville, Md., 

May 1, 1986. 

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HUMAN SERVICES 

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Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 

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