— More than 67 million American adults reported having a disability in 2019, a 1% increase from 2016.
— Disparities still exist between people from different socioeconomic and demographic groups.
These data highlight the need to collect data on disability as a core demographic variable: understanding these experiences among populations can lead to more effective policies and solutions, the researchers say.
A new analysis led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine finds that 27% of U.S. adults, or 67 million people, report having a disability, up 1% from the last time the data was analyzed in 2016. In the new study, which used data collected in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers found that wide disparities across socioeconomic and demographic factors remain between those who self-identify as disabled and those who do not.
“To reduce ableism and create more inclusive communities, our country must be equipped with data on the prevalence of disability,” said BonnieLynn Swenor, PhD, MPH, director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Disability Health Research and associate professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Wilmer Eye Institute.
Swenor and her team analyzed survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which collects health and behavioral information from annual telephone surveys of more than 400,000 U.S. adults.
The analysis was published in JAMA Network Open on October 21st.
Approximately 27% of adults in the U.S. report a disability. In terms of the U.S. adult population, this equates to 67 million adults. Since disability prevalence data was analyzed and reported in 2016, an additional 6 million people have reported a disability.
Current research indicates that approximately 12% of American adults report multiple disabilities. The most commonly reported type of disability is mobility impairment, followed by cognitive/mental disabilities, independent living disabilities (requiring assistance with daily tasks and getting around), hearing impairments, vision impairments, and self-care disabilities (requiring assistance with bathing, dressing, and other personal tasks).
Additionally, the researchers analyzed socioeconomic and demographic data to better understand the prevalence of the disorder across intersecting groups.
“To develop effective measures and policies to include people with disabilities in all aspects of life, we need to take into account the diversity of people’s experiences of disability across different ethnic, socioeconomic, demographic and geographic groups,” Swenor said. “With robust data, we can strengthen our knowledge base on disability and develop concrete solutions.”
Survey data found that adults with disabilities were more likely to be older, female, Hispanic, have less than a high school diploma, be low-income, unemployed, and be bisexual, transgender, or gender non-conforming than adults without disabilities. Digging deeper, the team found differences in disability prevalence based on sociodemographic groups. For example, black women had a higher prevalence of disability than women of other races, and black adults who identified as gay or bisexual had a lower prevalence of disability than gay or bisexual adults of other races.
Swenor and his team note that an aging population and other factors could be contributing to the increase in disability reports. The data includes information from before the COVID-19 pandemic, and Swenor said it’s possible that more people are reporting disabilities due to long-term COVID-19 symptoms.
The research team aims to use these data to continue exploring the experiences of disability populations, including identifying and locating supports and resources for people with disabilities, and identifying the capacity of schools and employers to support the disability community.
In addition to Swenor, researchers contributing to the report include Jessica Campanile, Jennifer Diehl, PhD, Nicholas Reed, PhD, and Varshini Varadaraj, MD, MPH.
Swenor’s citation was updated on November 3, 2021.