TABLE 1.

Prevalence of Disability and the Need of Assistance, by Age: United States, 2002

Age Group, y	Total Estimated Population	Estimated Population With Any Disability (%)	Estimated Population With Severe Disability (%)	Estimated Population Needing Assistance (%)
All ages	282 831	51 235 (18.1)	32 532 (11.5)	10 746 (3.8)
< 15	60 605	5 111 (8.4)	2 044 (3.4)	179 (0.3)
15–24	39 453	4 128 (10.5)	1 911 (4.8)	479 (1.2)
25–44	82 914	9 230 (11.1)	6 023 (7.3)	1 659 (2.0)
45–54	39 740	7 705 (19.4)	5 021 (12.6)	1 506 (3.8)
55–64	26 377	7 415 (28.1)	5 090 (19.3)	1 421 (5.4)
65–74	17 956	7 617 (42.4)	4 954 (27.6)	1 779 (9.9)
≥ 75	15 786	10 029 (63.5)	7 489 (47.4)	3 723 (23.6)

Note. Population estimates are in thousands.

Source. Adapted from Steinmetz.¹³