America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2010
Health
Children's health is influenced by their biology, social and physical environment, and behavior, as well as the availability of services. This section presents information about indicators related to birth outcomes and key physical and mental health conditions that may result from a combination of these influences.
Infants born preterm or with low birthweight34 are at high risk of early death and long-term health and developmental problems.35 Following many years of increases, the U.S. preterm birth rate declined for the second straight year, from 12.8 percent in 2006 to 12.7 percent in 2007 to 12.3 percent in 2008. Decreases in preterm rates between 2007 and 2008 were seen for each of the three largest race and ethnicity groups: White, non-Hispanic, Black, non-Hispanic, and Hispanic women.36 The 2008 low birthweight rate was 8.2 percent, unchanged from 2007. The low birthweight rate had fallen slightly between 2006 and 2007 (from 8.3 percent).
Figure 14: Percentage of infants born preterm and percentage of infants born with low birthweight, 1990–2008
NOTE: Data for 2007 and 2008 are preliminary. Late preterm infants are born at 34–36 weeks of gestation; very and moderately preterm infants are born at less than 34 weeks gestation. Moderately low birthweight infants weigh 1,500–2,499 grams at birth; very low birthweight infants weigh less than 1,500 grams at birth.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases among children. In 2008, 9 percent of children had current asthma, which includes children with active asthma symptoms and children with well-controlled asthma. The percentage of children with current asthma increased slightly from 2001 to 2008.
The percentage of children who are obese is a public health challenge. In 1976–1980, only 6 percent of children ages 6–17 were obese.37 This percentage rose to 11 percent in 1988–1994 and to 17 percent by 2005–2006. In 2007–2008, 19 percent of children ages 6–17 were obese, not statistically different from the percentage in 2005–2006. Combined data for the years 2005–2008 indicate that Mexican American and Black, non-Hispanic children were more likely to be obese than White, non-Hispanic children.38
Poor eating patterns are a major factor in the high rate of obesity among children. In 2003–2004, on average, children's diets were out of balance, with too much added sugar and solid fat and not enough nutrient-dense foods, especially fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.39 The average diet for all age groups met the standards for total grains, but only children ages 2–5 met the standards for total fruit and milk.
Depression can adversely affect the development and well-being of adolescents, and youth with a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) are at greater risk for suicide and initiation of substance use.40 In 2008, 8 percent of adolescents ages 12–17 had at least one MDE during the past year. The prevalence of MDE was lowest in youth ages 12–13 (5 percent), compared with youth ages 14–15 (8 percent) and 16–17 (11 percent), and nearly three times higher among females (12 percent) compared with males (4 percent). The percentage of youth with at least one MDE receiving treatment for depression did not change significantly from 2004 to 2008 (40 percent and 38 percent, respectively).
Figure 15: Percentage of youth ages 12–17 who experienced a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the past year by age and gender, 2004–2008
NOTE: Major Depressive Episode (MDE) is defined as a period of at least 2 weeks when a person experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities plus at least four additional symptoms of depression (such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration and feelings of self-worth) as described in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
SOURCE: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
34 Preterm births are births less than 37 weeks gestation. Low birthweight infants weigh less than 2,500 grams, or 5 lbs. 8 oz. at birth.
35 Institute of Medicine, Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes and Board on Health Sciences Policy. (2005). Preterm birth: Causes, consequences, and prevention. R.E. Behrman and A.S. Butler. (Eds). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2006/Preterm-Birth-Causes-Consequences-and-Prevention/pretermbirth.ashx.
36 Race refers to mother's race.
37 Previously, a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI growth charts was termed overweight. Beginning with America's Children, 2010, a BMI at or above the 95th percentile is termed obese to be consistent with other publications of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. Estimates of obesity are comparable to estimates of overweight in past reports. Ogden CL, Flegal KM. (2010). Changes in terminology for childhood overweight and obesity. National health statistics reports; no 25. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr025.pdf.
38 National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010), unpublished tabulations. In this survey, respondents were asked to choose one or more races. All race groups discussed in this paragraph refer to people who indicated only one racial identity. Mexican American children may be of any race.
39 The Healthy Eating Index-2005 measures how well diets meet the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Guenther, P.M., Reedy, J., and Krebs-Smith, S.M. (2008). Development of the Healthy Eating Index-2005. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108 (11): 1896–1901. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2005, January). Dietary guidelines for Americans, 2005 (6th ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/pdf/DGA2005.pdf.
40 Shaffer, D., Gould, M.S., Fisher, P., Trautman, P., Moreau, D., Kleinman, M., and Flory, M. (1996). Psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53 (4): 339–348. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (2007, May 3). The NSDUH report: Depression and the initiation of cigarette, alcohol and other drug use among youths aged 12 to 17. Rockville, MD: Author. Retrieved from http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/newUserdepression/newUserdepression.pdf.