Federal Report Details Health and Economic Status of Older Americans

Monday, July 19, 2010 Contact:
Barbara Cire, NIA, 301-496-1752

Jeff Lancashire, NCHS, 301-458-4800 News Advisory

Federal Report Details Health and Economic Status of Older Americans
Today's older Americans enjoy longer lives and better health than did previous generations. These and other trends are reported in Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being, a unique, comprehensive look at aging in the United States from the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics.

Older Americans 2010, the fifth report prepared by the Forum since 2000, provides an updated, accessible compendium of indicators, drawn from the most reliable official statistics about the well-being of Americans primarily age 65 and older. The indicators are categorized into five broad areas — population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, and health care. The 155-page report contains data on 37 key indicators.

The Forum — a consortium representing 15 agencies with responsibilities for federal data collection, programs serving older Americans, and research — assembles these data and makes them available to a wide constituency including other agencies, policy makers, researchers, and the public.

When: Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being will be available online at www.agingstats.gov on Monday, July 19, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. EDT.


Spokespersons: The following individuals are available to comment on the report:
National Institute on Aging: Richard Suzman, Ph.D., Director, NIA Division of Behavioral and Social Research
National Center for Health Statistics: Edward Sondik, Ph.D., Director, National Center for Health Statistics



Contact: To schedule interviews, please contact the following individuals:
NIA: Barbara Cire, 301-496-1752; nianews3@mail.nih.gov
NCHS: Jeff Lancashire, 301-458-4800, paoquery@cdc.gov



MORE INFO: The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics was established in 1986 to improve the quality and utility of federal data on aging. The 15 agencies that now compose the Forum include the Administration on Aging, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Health Statistics, National Institute on Aging, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (Department of Health and Human Services), Social Security Administration and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being is available online at www.AgingStats.gov and in limited quantities in print. Supporting data for each indicator, including complete tables, PowerPoint slides and source descriptions, can be found on the Forum's website. Single printed copies of Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being are available at no charge through the National Center for Health Statistics while supplies last. Requests may be made by calling 1-866-441-6247 or by sending an e-mail to nchsquery@cdc.gov. For multiple print copies, contact Forum staff director Elena Fazio at (301) 458-4460 or send an e-mail request to agingforum@cdc.gov.

The NIA leads the federal effort supporting and conducting research on aging and the medical, social and behavioral issues of older people. For more information on research and the aging, go to www.nia.nih.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.