NCHS Data Brief

Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has increased among some adults (1-3).Reducing the use of any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, is a Healthy People 2030 objective (4). E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some adults who smoke and are not pregnant if they are used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes or other tobacco products (5). However, concerns exist about dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes (6-9). Use of e-cigarettes among young adults is also a concern because nicotine adversely impacts brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s (5,10)...

Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants with abuse potential (that is, drugs such as methamphetamine, amphetamine, and methylphenidate) have risen in the past several years (1-4). A recent report highlighted that drug overdose deaths involving cocaine rose 22% and drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants rose 33% from 2020 through 2021 (1). By the end of 2021, the report counted 24,486 drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and 32,537 drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants (1,5)...

Developmental disabilities are common in children in the United States, and the prevalence has increased in recent years (1). Timely estimates are necessary to assess the adequacy of services and interventions that children with developmental disabilities typically need (2). This report provides updated prevalence estimates for diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and other developmental delay among children aged 3-17 years from the 2019-2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), with differences in prevalence examined between years and by sex, age group, and race and Hispanic origin...

Deaths due to suicide and homicide, often referred to collectively as violent deaths, have been a leading cause of premature death to people aged 10-24 in the United States (1-3). A previous version of this report with data through 2017 showed that suicide and homicide rates for people aged 10-24 were trending upward (4). This report updates the previous report using the most recent data from the National Vital Statistics System and presents trends from 2001 through 2021 in suicide and homicide rates for people aged 10-24 and for age groups 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24...

About 60% of adults aged 18 and over reported taking at least one prescription medication in 2021, with 36% reporting taking three or more (1). Out-ofpocket costs on retail drugs rose 4.8% to $63 billion in 2021 (2). High costs may limit individuals' access to medications and lead to people not taking medication as prescribed (3,4); this may result in more serious illness and require additional treatment (5). This report examines the characteristics of adults aged 18-64 who took prescription medication in the past 12 months and did not take medication as prescribed due to cost...

Mental health disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and behavioral conditions, are common in school-aged children in the United States (1). Frontline treatments for mental health disorders can include medication, counseling or therapy, or both, depending on the condition and the age of the child (2). This report describes the percentage of children aged 5-17 years who have received mental health treatment in the past 12 months by selected characteristics, based on data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey...

With the disruptions to access and use of care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency department (ED) visit rates decreased from 2019 to 2020 among children and adolescents (1). The ED visit rate for children under age 1 year in 2020 was nearly one-half of the rate in 2019, and the rate for those aged 1-17 years decreased over the same period (2). This report uses data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) (3,4) to compare ED visits for children aged 0-17 from 2019 to 2020, by age group, sex, and race and ethnicity, and to assess changes in wait time at ED visits...

Access to health care coverage during pregnancy and delivery allows women to receive the care needed to maximize the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy and baby (1). National birth certificate data on the principal source of payment for the delivery became available in 2016, when all states implemented the 2003 U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth. This certificate provides information on payment through private insurance; Medicaid; CHAMPUS, TRICARE, and other types of government insurance; and self-pay, which has been shown to reflect the uninsured status of the mother at the time of delivery (2)...

Differences in work conditions such as job autonomy, job insecurity, and shift work may lead to health disparities in the population (1). Previous research has linked worse health outcomes to shift work (2-4), job insecurity (5), and other work conditions (6). This report uses 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to examine differences in serious psychological distress in the past 30 days by work conditions, including shift work, monthly earnings variation, perceived job insecurity, and work schedule flexibility, for working adults aged 18-64 in the United States...

For 2019-2020, an average of 3.8 million emergency department (ED) visits for motor vehicle crash injuries occurred annually (1,2). Most injuries from motor vehicle crashes (90.4%) are unintentional and occur among vehicle occupants, and these types of injuries are a leading cause of all injury in the United States (1-3). This report presents ED visit rates for injuries related to all types of motor vehicle crashes by age, race and ethnicity, health insurance status, and region. Data for this report are from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), an annual nationally representative survey of nonfederal, general, and short-stay hospitals (1,2)...

In 2021, 33.8 million people in the United States were food insecure, that is, they did not have consistent, dependable access to sufficient quality or quantity of food (1,2). Food insecurity affects health outcomes (3), increasing the risk of high cholesterol, hypertension, chronic health conditions, and changes in functional limitations (4-6), and is a social determinant of health. This report explores selected sociodemographic characteristics of adults aged 18 and over living in families experiencing food insecurity...

In 2021, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, changing from the 10th leading cause in 2019 and the 12th leading cause in 2020 (1). As the second leading cause of death in people aged 10-34 and the fifth in people aged 35-54, suicide contributes to premature mortality (1). After peaking in 2018, rates declined through 2020 but then increased again in 2021, according to provisional data (2,3). This report updates previous data by presenting final suicide rates from 2001 through 2021 by sex and age as well as rates by race and Hispanic origin for 2020 and 2021...

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, suicide was the 10th highest cause of death overall and the 2nd highest cause for the 10-34 age group (1,2). Suicidal ideation is defined as thinking about, considering, or planning suicide; is predictive of suicide deaths; and may result in injury and hospitalization (3). An estimated 4.0% to 4.8% of adults aged 18 and over have suicidal ideation each year (4,5). The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation in the United States is 15.6% (6). This report uses data from the 2016-2020 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to present the annual average emergency department (ED) visit rate per 10,000 people for patients with suicidal ideation...

Smoking during pregnancy is an established risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and health issues for newborns later in life (1-3). National birth certificate data on cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked before and during pregnancy first became available in 2016. These data allow for the analysis of maternal cigarette use during pregnancy by numerous maternal and infant characteristics. This report describes changes in the number and percentage of mothers who smoked cigarettes at any time during pregnancy in the United States from 2016 to 2021 and changes between 2016 and 2021 in the percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy by maternal age, race and Hispanic origin, and state of residence...

An allergy occurs when an individual's immune system misclassifies typically harmless substances as harmful and has a specific and reproducible immune response (1,2). The severity of allergy symptoms can range from itchy, watery eyes and hives to life-threatening anaphylaxis, and the presence of allergies can negatively impact an individual's quality of life (3-6). This report uses 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to describe the prevalence of seasonal allergies, eczema, and food allergies in adults in the United States...

The percentage of children with certain allergic conditions has increased over previous decades (1,2). Seasonal allergies, which includes hay fever, allergic rhinitis, and allergic conjunctivitis, causes sneezing, cough, runny nose, and itchy eyes. Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, causes itchy, bumpy rashes and thickened skin that can appear anywhere on the body. Food allergies can cause hives, vomiting, trouble breathing, or throat tightening. Children with allergic conditions may have increased healthcare use and decreased quality of life (3)...

Sleep medications are a common treatment option for insomnia (1). Insufficient sleep is associated with many negative mental and physical health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression, and an increased risk of injury (2). The prevalence of sleep difficulties and use of sleep medication has differed between men and women (3-5). This report uses 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to describe the percentage of men and women who used medication for sleep, defined here as taking any medication to help fall or stay asleep most days or every day in the past 30 days, by selected sociodemographic characteristics...

Opioids may be an effective treatment for chronic and acute pain when properly used (1). However, receiving an opioid prescription in the emergency department (ED) has been identified as a potential risk factor for long-term use (2). Between 2010-2011 and 2016-2017, the percentage of opioids prescribed at ED discharge decreased from 21.5% to 14.6% (3,4). This report provides more recent changes in rates and percentages of opioids prescribed to adults (aged 18 and over) at discharge from the ED by patient and visit characteristics through 2020, using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)...

Drug overdose deaths have been rising over the past 2 decades in the United States (1-4). This report uses the most recent data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) to update statistics on deaths from drug overdose in the United States, showing rates by demographic groups and by the types of drugs involved (specifically, opioids and stimulants), with a focus on changes from 2020 through 2021.

This report presents final 2021 U.S. mortality data on deaths and death rates by demographic and medical characteristics. These data provide information on mortality patterns among U.S. residents by variables such as sex, age, race and Hispanic origin, and cause of death. Life expectancy estimates, ageadjusted death rates, age-specific death rates, the 10 leading causes of death,infant mortality rates, and the 10 leading causes of infant death were analyzed by comparing 2021 and 2020 final data (1).