CDC: Drug poisonings, eldery falls on the rise; other areas improving

Washington – Despite a steady rate of health improvements during the past decade in the United States, significant problems remain, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Problems include deaths from drug poisoning, which increased by more than 11,000 between 2005 and 2011, and deaths among older adults as a result of falls, which increased by about 7,000.

However, researchers said, life expectancy at birth has increased by one year in the United States since 2005, and rates of heart disease, stroke and deaths attributed to motor vehicle crashes showed “notable declines.”

Obesity rates remained at 35 percent for adults and about 17 percent for youths, according to the report. Smoking rates declined to 15.7 percent among youths, which marked a record low, while the rate for adults held firm at about 25 percent.

The CDC National Health Report 2014 was published Oct. 31 in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.