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Objective We examined the effect of functional disability on all-cause mortality and cause-specific deaths among community-dwelling US adults. Methods We used data from 142,636 adults who participated in the 1994–1995 National Health Interview Survey-Disability Supplement eligible for linkage to National Death Index records from 1994 to 2006 to estimate the effects of disability on mortality and leading causes of death. Results Adults with any disability were more likely to die than adults without disability (19.92% vs. 10.94%; hazard ratio = 1.51, 95% confidence interval, 1.45–1.57). This association was statistically significant for most causes of death and for most types of disability studied. The leading cause of death for adults with and without disability differed (heart disease and malignant neoplasms, respectively). Conclusions Our results suggest that all-cause mortality rates are higher among adults with disabilities than among adults without disabilities and that significant associations exist between several types of disability and cause-specific mortality. Interventions are needed that effectively address the poorer health status of people with disabilities and reduce the risk of death.

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Nearly 40 million persons in the United States have a disability, as defined by responses to six questions recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the national standard for identifying disabilities in population-based health surveys (1). Although these questions have been used to estimate prevalence of functional disabilities overall, as well as types of functional disabilities (disability type), no study has yet investigated the characteristics of U.S. adults by number of disability types. Knowing the characteristics of persons living with multiple disability types is important for understanding the overall functional status of these persons. CDC analyzed data from the family component of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the years 2011-2014 to estimate the percentage of adults aged 18-64 years with one, two, three, or four or more disability types, by selected demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Overall, 22.6 million (11.9%) working-age adults were found to have any disability, and in this population, most (12.8 million) persons had only one disability type. A generally consistent pattern between increasing indicators of low socioeconomic status and the number of disability types was observed. Understanding the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of working-age adults with disabilities, including those with multiple disability types, might help to further the inclusion of persons with disabilities in public health programs and policies.