1972 Survey of disabled and nondisabled adults: chronic disease, injury, and work disability

Abstract

The Social Security Administration 1972 Survey of Disabled and Nondisabled Adults showed that an estimated 15.6 million adults aged 20--64, or 15 percent of the total noninstitutionalized population of those ages, were disabled as a result of some chronic condition or impairment. Yet more than three times as many persons (51.8 million) reported that they suffered from one or more chronic health conditions. The diseases reported most frequently by the adult population of working age were cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders, each with prevalence rates of 200 persons per 1,000 population. The prevalence rate for neurological disorders was only 7 persons per 1,000; their disabling potential, however, was much greater than that for the diseases with the highest prevalence rates: 80 percent of those suffering from neurological disorders were also currently disabled. For almost every disease group, older persons were more likely to suffer from a chronic condition or impairment and more likely to be disabled as a result. Women were more likely than men to report a chronic disease or impairment and more likely to be severely disabled as a result. White persons were somehwat more likely than blacks and members of other races to report one or more chronic conditions but less likely to be disabled as a result and even less likely to be severely disabled. Among the nondisabled, less than one-tenth reported a condition caused by accident or injury but close to one-fourth of the disabled reported a disease or impairment of accidental origin.