America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011
Physical Environment and Safety Figures
Indicator PHY1: Percentage of children ages 0–17 living in counties in which levels of one or more air pollutants were above allowable levels, 1999–2009
NOTE: Data have been revised since previous publication in America's Children. Values have been recalculated based on updated data in the Air Quality System. This analysis incorporates the revised Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide that were promulgated in 2010. The PM2.5 24-hour standard, promulgated in 2006, has also been added to the figure. Averaging time of ambient pollutant concentrations varies by pollutant: 1 hour for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide; 8 hours for ozone and carbon monoxide; 24 hours for PM10; and 3 months for lead. Two different averaging times are considered for PM2.5: 24-hour and annual.
SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Air Quality System.
Indicator PHY2.A: Percentage of children ages 4–11 with specified blood cotinine levels, selected years 1988–2008
NOTE: Cotinine levels are reported for nonsmoking children only. "Any detectable cotinine" indicates blood cotinine levels at or above 0.05 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), the detectable level of cotinine in the blood in 1988–1994. The average (geometric mean) blood cotinine level in children living in homes where someone smoked was 1.0 ng/mL in 1988–199459 and in 2003–2006.60
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Indicator PHY2.B: Percentage of children ages 0–6 living in homes where someone smoked regularly by poverty status, 1994 and 2005
NOTE: A home where someone smoked regularly is defined as one in which smoking by a resident occurred 4 or more days per week.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.
Indicator PHY3: Percentage of children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards, 1993–2009
NOTE: A new standard for disinfection byproducts was implemented beginning in 2002 for larger drinking water systems and in 2004 for smaller systems. Revisions to the standard for surface water treatment took effect in 2002. A revised standard for radionuclides went into effect in 2003. A revised standard for arsenic (included in the Chemical and radionuclide category) went into effect in 2006. No other revisions to the standards have taken effect during the period of trend data (beginning with 1993). Data have been revised since previous publication in America's Children. Values for years prior to 2009 have been recalculated based on updated data in the Safe Drinking Water Information System.
SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Safe Drinking Water Information System.
Indicator PHY4.A: Percentage of children ages 1–5 with specified blood lead levels, 1988–1994, 1999–2002, and 2005–2008
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Indicator PHY4.B: Percentage of children ages 1–5 with specified blood lead levels by race and Hispanic origin74 and poverty status, 2005–2008
NOTE: Data for percentage of children with blood lead above 10 µg/dL are not shown because estimates by race and Hispanic origin and by poverty status are considered unreliable.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Indicator PHY5: Percentage of households with children ages 0–17 that reported housing problems by type of problem, selected years 1978–2009
NOTE: Data are available for 1978, 1983, 1989, and biennially since 1993. All data are weighted using the decennial Census that preceded the date of their collection.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Housing Survey. Tabulated by Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Indicator PHY6: Youth victims of serious violent crimes: Rate of serious violent crime victimization of youth ages 12–17 by gender, 1980–2005 and 2007–2009
NOTE: Serious violent crimes include aggravated assault, rape, robbery (stealing by force or threat of violence), and homicide. Homicide data were not available for 2009 at the time of publication. The number of homicides for 2008 is included in the overall total for 2009. In 2008, homicides represented less than 1 percent of serious violent crime, and the total number of homicides of juveniles has been relatively stable over the last decade. Because of changes, data prior to 1992 are adjusted to make them comparable with data collected under the redesigned methodology. Data from 2006 are not included because, due to changes in methodology, 2006 crime victimization rates are not comparable to other years and cannot be used for yearly trend comparisons. Some 2006–2008 estimates have been revised since previous publication in America's Children due to updating of more recent homicide numbers. See Criminal Victimization, 2006, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=765. Reporting standards were not met for the 2007 estimate for females.
SOURCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Supplementary Homicide Reports.
Indicator PHY7.A: Emergency department visit rates for children ages 1–4 and 5–14 by leading causes of injury visits, 2007–2008
NOTE: Visits are the initial visit to the emergency department for the injury. Among causes of injury, "struck" denotes being struck by or against an object or person, "natural or environmental" denotes injuries caused by natural or environmental factors such as insect or animal bites, and "cut or pierced" denotes injuries caused by cutting or piercing from instruments or objects.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
Indicator PHY7.B: Death rates among children ages 1–4 and 5–14 by all causes and all injury causes, 1980–2009
NOTE: 2008 and 2009 data were preliminary. Caution should be taken in interpreting injury death rates based on preliminary data, as these tend to be underestimated. See Deaths: Preliminary data for 2009, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_04.pdf.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
Indicator PHY7.C: Death rates among children ages 1–4 and 5–14 by cause of death, 2009
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
Indicator PHY8.A: Emergency department visit rates for adolescents ages 15–19 by leading causes of injury visits, 2007–2008
NOTE: Visits are the initial visit to the emergency department for the injury. Among causes of injury, "struck" denotes being struck by or against an object or person, "cut or pierced" denotes injuries caused by cutting or piercing from instruments or objects, "overexertion" denotes excessive physical exercise or strenuous movements in recreational or other activities, and "natural or environmental" denotes injuries caused by natural or environmental factors such as insect or animal bites.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
Indicator PHY8.B: Death rates among adolescents ages 15–19 by all causes and all injury causes and selected mechanisms of injury, 1980–2009
NOTE: 2008 and 2009 data were preliminary. Caution should be taken in interpreting injury death rates based on preliminary data, as these tend to be underestimated. See Deaths: Preliminary data for 2009, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/ncsr59_04.pdf.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
59 Mannino, D.M., Caraballo, R., Benowitz, N., and Repace, J. (2001). Predictors of cotinine levels in U.S. children: Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. CHEST, 120, 718–724.
60 Marano, C., Schober, S.E., Brody, D.J., and Zhang, C. (2009). Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure among children and adolescents: United States, 2003–2006. Pediatrics, 124 (5): 1299–1305.
74 For 2005–2008, the revised 1997 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and "Two or more races." Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately but combined for reporting. Persons of Mexican origin may be of any race.