The FINANCIAL — WASHINGTON—Forty-five percent of U.S. adults report that they live with one or more chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, but also less common conditions like lupus and cancer, according to the Pew Research Center.
The FINANCIAL — WASHINGTON—Forty-five percent of U.S. adults report that they live with one or more chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, but also less common conditions like lupus and cancer, according to the Pew Research Center. They are more likely than other adults to be older, to have faced a medical emergency in the past year, and, as other studies have shown, to contribute to the explosion of health care costs in the U.S.
The Pew Research Center’s analysis indicates a “diagnosis difference” that is tied to several aspects of health care and technology use. For example, holding other variables constant (including age, income, education, ethnicity, and overall health status), the fact that someone has a chronic condition is independently associated with being offline.
The diagnosis difference cuts another way, too. This study provides evidence that many people with serious health concerns take their health decisions seriously—and are seriously social about gathering and sharing information, both online and offline, according to the Pew Research Center.
Internet users living with one or more conditions are more likely than other online adults to:
Gather information online about medical problems, treatments, and drugs.
Consult online reviews about drugs and other treatments.
Read or watch something online about someone else’s personal health experience.
The diagnosis difference is also tied to the phenomenon of people tracking symptoms and other health indicators, which clinical research shows is a low-cost, effective health intervention. This is the first national survey measuring the extent of tracking among the people most likely to benefit – those living with chronic health conditions.
Seven in ten U.S. adults living with one chronic condition and fully 80% of people living with two or more conditions track weight, diet, exercise routine, other health indicators like blood pressure, blood sugar, sleep patterns, or headaches, for themselves or for someone else. By comparison, 61% of adults living with no conditions track some aspect of health. When controlling for age, income, education, ethnicity, and overall health status, living with chronic conditions increases the probability that someone will track a health indicator, according to the research.
Pencil and paper is the most popular method of tracking among people living with chronic conditions (43%), followed by just keeping track in their heads (41%). Technology plays a minor role – 14% of trackers living with chronic conditions use a medical device like a glucometer and a handful use an app, a spreadsheet, or website to keep track of symptoms and other health indicators.
Seventy-two percent of trackers living with one or more conditions say tracking has had an impact on their health or the health of someone they care for, compared with 55% of trackers who report no conditions, according to the Pew Research Center.
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