The prevalence of disability from chronic conditions due to injury among adults ages 18-69 years: United States, 1994

Purpose: To describe the causes and determine the prevalence of disability from chronic conditions due to injury among US civilian non-institutionaliz ed persons aged 18-69 years. Methods: Data from the National Health Interview Survey Disability (NHIS-D) Supplement Phase I, United States 1994 were analysed and six disability ca tegories were examined: activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental acti vities of daily living (IADL), functional activities (FA), sight, hearing, and communication. Results: In 1994, 5.6 million persons aged 18-69 years reported a disabilit y because of a chronic condition that was caused by injury. The prevalence of ADL disability due to chronic conditions caused by injury was 370 per 10 0000 population; IADL disability was 1256; FA disability was 2512; sight wa s 231; hearing was 339; and communication was 91 per 100000 population. Fif ty per cent of ADL, IADL, and FA disabilities were attributed to motor vehi cle crashes and fans, as were 31% of sight, 19% of hearing, and 23% of comm unication disabilities. Conclusions: Though these estimates may be conservative, this study indicat es that injury is a major cause of disability in addition to a leading caus e of death in the US.