The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the annual update to the Disability and Health Data System (DHDS), providing quick and easy online access to state-level health data on adults with disabilities.
The latest data, from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), reveal that more than 1 in 4—over 70 million—adults in the United States reported having a disability in 2022.
The 2022 BRFSS collected data on experiences with Long COVID, defined as symptoms lasting three months or longer that the person did not have before COVID, to help us better understand the relationship between disabilities and Long COVID. Of particular concern is the finding that Long COVID symptoms were more prevalent among people with disabilities (10.8%) than among those without disabilities (6.6%).
Additional DHDS findings:
- Older adults reported a higher disability prevalence (43.9% of people aged 65 years and older) compared to other age groups.
- When examining disability status by race/ethnicity, the groups with the highest prevalence (both 38.7%) identified as American Indian or Alaska Native and Other/Multirace.
- CDC has state profile fact sheets that provide an overview of disability in each state, including the percentages and characteristics of adults with and without disabilities. Click on any state listed here to view that state’s profile.
