Articles about Disability and Health

Key Findings

Many Adults with Disabilities Report Frequent Mental Distress
A study from the CDC found that adults with disabilities report experiencing more mental distress than those without disabilities.

Prevalence of Disability and Disability Types by Urban-Rural County Classification – United States, 2016
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a new report comparing the percentage of adults with disabilities living in urban versus rural U.S counties.

Prevalence of Disabilities and Health Care Access by Disability Status and Type Among Adults — United States, 2016
Read the published report describing adults with disabilities in the US, as well as the differences in healthcare access by disability type.

Using Medicaid Data to Characterize Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Five U.S. States
An article in the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities used Medicaid data from 2008-2013 to identify and describe people with intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) in five states (Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, and South Carolina).

Article Highlights: The Guide to Community Preventive Services and Disability Inclusion
In a recent report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), CDC scientists summarize how public health recommendations from the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) can be adapted to better benefit people with disabilities.

Primary Care Providers’ Level of Preparedness for Recommending Physical Activity to Adults with Disabilities
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Preventing Chronic Disease journal published a study that looked at how prepared primary care providers (PCPs) feel to recommend physical activity to adults with disabilities.

Adults with One or More Functional Disabilities
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) has published a new report that describes the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of working-age (18-64 years) adults with disabilities living in U.S. communities.

Socioeconomic Factors at the Intersection of Race and Ethnicity Influencing Health Risks for People with Disabilities
The Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities has published a new study looking at the relationship between income and education, and two health behaviors—smoking and obesity—among people with disabilities from different racial and ethnic groups.

Feature Articles

CDC’s Commitment to Disability Inclusion
We celebrate the 33^rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a civil rights law that promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities in every aspect of life.

Special Olympics Athletes Team Up to Roll-Out Fun Online Workouts
Special Olympics fitness programming has demonstrated increases in positive health behaviors and health outcomes for athletes.

COVID-19 and People with Disabilities
Learn how to build a disability-inclusive, accessible, and sustainable post COVID-19 world.

Disability and Health Data
Learn about the health of people with disabilities in your state.

CDC and Special Olympics: Inclusive Health
Learn how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with Special Olympics to improve the health of people with ID.

Mental Health for All
Learn some tips that people with disabilities can use to cope with stress.

Disability and Diabetes Prevention
If you have a disability, learn what you can do to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes.

Physical Activity for People with Disabilities
Do you have a disability? Find your own path to physical activity.

Recent Scientific Articles

COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Among Medicare Beneficiaries With and Without Disabilities — United States, January 1, 2020–November 20, 2021.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:791–796.
Yuan Y, Thierry JM, Bull-Otterson L, et al.
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Physical activity types among US adults with mobility disability, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2017.
Disabil Health J. 2020. Feb 3
Hollis ND, Zhang QC, Cyrus AC, Courtney-Long E, Watson K, Carroll D.
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Differences in perceived neighborhood environmental supports and barriers for walking between US adults with and without a disability.
Prev Med. 2020; 134:106065.
Omura JD, Hyde ET, Whitfield G.P, Hollis ND, Fulton JE, Carlson SA.
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Comparisons of Estimates from the Behavioral Health Risk Factor Surveillance System and Other National Health Surveys, 2011-2016
Am. J. Prev. Med. 2020 Jun;58(6):e181-e190.
Jason Hsia, Guixiang Zhao, Machell Town, Junling Ren, Catherine A Okoro, Carol Pierannunzi, William Garvin.
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Prevalence of Disability and Disability Types by Urban-Rural County Classification – United States, 2016
Zhao, Guixiang et al. Prevalence of Disability and Disability Types by Urban–Rural County Classification—U.S., 2016
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 57, Issue 6, 749 – 756
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Prevalence of disabilities and health care access by disability status and type among adults – United States, 2016
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018; 64: 777-783. 67: 882–887
Okoro CA, Hollis ND, Cyrus AC, Griffin-Blake S.
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Using Medicaid data to characterize persons with IDD in five US states
Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2018;123:371-381
McDermott S, Royer J, Cope T, et al.
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Factors associated with ambulatory care sensitive emergency department visits for South Carolina Medicaid members with ID
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2018; 62:165-178
McDermott S, Royer J, Mann JR, Armour BS.
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Enhancing individual and community disaster preparedness: Individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs
Disabil Health J. 2018;11:170-173
Kruger J, Hinton CF, Sinclair LB, Silverman B.
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Considering disability and health: Reflections on the Healthy People 2020 Midcourse Review
Disabil Health J. 2018;11:333-338
Sinclair LB, Fox MH, Jonas BS, et al.
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The Guide to Community Preventive Services and Disability Inclusion
Am J Prev Med. 2017; 53:898-903
Hinton CF, Kraus LE, Richards TA, et al.
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Primary Care Providers’ Level of Preparedness for Recommending Physical Activity to Adults With Disabilities
Prev Chronic Dis 2017; 14:170328
Courtney-Long EA, Stevens AC, Carroll DD, et al.
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A longitudinal assessment of adherence to breast and cervical cancer screening recommendations among women with and without intellectual disability.
Prev Med. 2017 Jul;100:167-172.
Xu X, McDermott SW, Mann JR, Hardin JW, Deroche CB, Carroll DD, Courtney-Long EA.
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Socioeconomic Factors at the Intersection of Race and Ethnicity Influencing Health Risks for People with Disabilities
Courtney-Long, E.A., Romano, S.D., Carroll, D.D. et al. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2017) 4: 213. doi:10.1007/s40615-016-0220-5
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Comparison of 2 Disability Measures, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013
Prev Chronic Dis 2016;13:160080
Stevens AC, Courtney-Long EA, Okoro CA, Carroll DD.
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Prevalence and Causes of Paralysis—United States, 2013
Am J Public Health. 2016 Oct;106(10):1855-7.
Armour BS, Courtney-Long EA, Fox MH, Fredine H, Cahill A.
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Adults with One or More Functional Disabilities — United States, 2011–2014
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016 / 65(38);1021–1025
Stevens AC, Carroll DD, Courtney-Long EA, et al.
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Additional Selected Articles

Prevalence of Disability and Disability Type among Adults, United States – 2013
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2015; 64: 777-783.
Courtney-Long EA, Carroll DD, Zhang Q, et al.
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Vital Signs: Disability and Physical Activity – United States, 2009-2012.
MMWR; May 2014; 63. Carroll D, Courtney-Long E, Stevens A, Sloan M, Lullo C, Visser S, Fox M, Armour B, Campbell V, Brown D, and Dorn, J.
[Read Article]

Disability Prevalence Among Healthy Weight, Overweight, and Obese Adults.
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Apr;21(4):852-5. doi: 10.1002/oby.20312.
Armour BS, Courtney-Long EA, Campbell VA and Wethington HR.
[Read summary]

Health Disparities of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: What Do We Know? What Do We Do?
Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.  2013 Jul 31. doi: 10.1111/jar.12067.
Krahn G, Fox MH.
[Read summary]

Using Population-Based Data to Examine Preventive Services by Disability Type among Dually Eligible (Medicare/Medicaid) Adults.
The Disability and Health Journal. April, 2013; 6(2); 75-86.
Reichard A, Fox MH.
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Estimating disability prevalence among adults by body mass index: 2003-2009 National Health Interview Survey.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2012; 9:120-136.
Armour BS, Courtney-Long E, Campbell VA, Wethington HR.
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CDC Grand Rounds: Public Health Practices to Include Persons with Disabilities.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  MMWR 2013;62:697-701.
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Factors associated with self-reported mammography use for women with and women without a disability.
J Women’s Health 2011; 20:1279-86.
Courtney-Long E, Armour B, Frammartino B, Miller J.
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State-level differences in breast and cervical cancer screening by disability status: United States, 2008
Women’s Health Issues; Nov-Dec 2009; 19(6): 406-14.
Armour BS, Thierry JM, Wolf LA.
[Read summary]

Economic costs associated with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and vision impairment — United States, 2003
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; January 2004; 53(3): 57-59.
CDC
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All Articles

Search a database of articles that have been published by CDC authors within the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities from 1990 to present. Search with the keywords: “disability and health,” “disability,” “women and disability,” “children with disabilities,” “developmental disability” and “vision impairment.”