Health
New health survey finds most children in good health
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 19, 2004
About 84% of kids and adolescents are in excellent or very good health, according to the "Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2002" published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March.
Those from wealthier families were more likely to report excellent health than those from poorer ones, and those on Medicaid were also least likely to be healthy. About 62% of those with private insurance reported excellent health but only 41% of those on Medicaid did.
The survey also found that 12% of children were diagnosed asthmatics, and that boys were more likely than girls to be asthmatic as were children from poor families and African-Americans. Hay fever was most common in the South affecting 15% of children but least common in the West where it affected only 10% of kids.
Minorities, however, did better at health-related school absences. Two-thirds of African-American and Hispanic children missed school because of illness, but four-fifths of white children did.
The report also found that 10% had no health insurance and that those children were more likely to receive their usual care in an emergency department.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/04/19/hlbf0419.htm.
