America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009
Physical Environment and Safety Figures
Indicator PHY1.A: Percentage of children ages 0–17 living in counties in which levels of one or more air pollutants were above allowable levels, 1999–2007
NOTE: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set national air quality standards for six principal pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide are not included in the graph because all areas meet the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for these pollutants. This analysis incorporates a new Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone that was promulgated in 2008.
SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air and Radiation, Air Quality System.
Indicator PHY1.b: Percentage of children ages 4–11 with specified blood cotinine levels, selected years 1988–2006
NOTE: "Any detectable cotinine" indicates blood cotinine levels at or above 0.05 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), the detectable level of cotinine in the blood in 1988–1994. Cotinine levels are reported for nonsmoking children only. The average (geometric mean) blood cotinine level in children living in homes where someone smoked was 1.0 ng/mL in 1988–1994.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Indicator PHY1.C: Percentage of children ages 0–6 living in homes where someone smoked regularly by poverty status, 1994 and 2005
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.
Indicator PHY2: Percentage of children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards, 1993–2007
NOTE: A new standard for disinfection byproducts was implemented beginning in 2002 for larger drinking water systems and in 2004 for smaller systems. Revisions to the standard for surface water treatment took effect in 2002. A revised standard for radionuclides went into effect in 2003. A revised standard for arsenic (included in the chemical and radionuclide category) went into effect in 2006. No other revisions to the standards have taken effect during the period of trend data (beginning with 1993). Data have been revised since previous publication in America's Children. Values for years prior to 2007 have been recalculated based on updated data in the Safe Drinking Water Information System.
SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Safe Drinking Water Information System.
Indicator PHY3.A: Percentage of children ages 1–5 with specified blood lead levels, selected years 1988–2006
* Estimate is unstable (relative standard error is greater than 30 percent but less than 40 percent).
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Indicator PHY3.B: Percentage of children ages 1–5 with specified blood lead levels by race and Hispanic origin75 and poverty status, 2003–2006
* Relative standard error is between 30 and 40 percent.
NOTE: Data for percentage of children with blood lead above 10 µg/dL are not shown because estimates by race and Hispanic origin and by poverty status are considered unreliable.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Indicator PHY4: Percentage of households with children ages 0–17 that reported housing problems by type of problem, selected years 1978–2007
NOTE: Data are available for 1978, 1983, 1989, and biennially since 1993. All data are weighted using the decennial Census that preceded the date of their collection.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Housing Survey. Tabulated by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Indicator PHY5: Rate of serious violent crime victimization of youth ages 12–17 by gender, selected years 1980–2005 and 2007
NOTE: Serious violent crimes include aggravated assault, rape, robbery (stealing by force or threat of violence), and homicide. Because of changes, data prior to 1992 are adjusted to make them comparable with data collected under the redesigned methodology. Data from 2006 are not included because, due to changes in methodology, 2006 crime victimization rates are not comparable to other years and cannot be used for yearly trend comparisons. See Criminal Victimization, 2006, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cv06.htm. Reporting standards were not met for the 2007 estimate for females.
SOURCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Supplementary Homicide Reports.
Indicator PHY6.A: Emergency department visit rates for children ages 1–4 and 5–14 by leading causes of injury visits, 2005–2006
NOTE: Visits are the initial visit to the emergency department for the injury. Among causes of injury, "struck" denotes being struck by or against an object or person, "natural or environmental" denotes injuries caused by natural or environmental factors such as insect or animal bites, and "cut or pierced" denotes injuries caused by cutting or piercing from instruments or objects.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
Indicator PHY6.B: Death rates among children ages 1–4 and 5–14 by all causes and all injury causes, 1980–2006
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
Indicator PHY6.C: Death rates among children ages 1–4 and 5–14 by cause of death, 2006
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
Indicator PHY7.A: Emergency department visit rates for adolescents ages 15–19 by leading causes of injury visits, 2005–2006
NOTE: Visits are the initial visit to the emergency department for the injury. Among causes of injury, "struck" denotes being struck by or against an object or person, "cut or pierced" denotes injuries caused by cutting or piercing from instruments or objects, "overexertion" denotes excessive physical exercise or strenuous movements in recreational or other activities, and "natural or environmental" denotes injuries caused by natural or environmental factors such as insect or animal bites.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
Indicator PHY7.B: Death rates among adolescents ages 15–19 by all causes and all injury causes and selected mechanisms of injury, 1980–2006
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.
75 For 2003–2006, the revised 1997 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander due to the small sample size for each of these groups. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately but combined for reporting. Persons of Mexican origin may be of any race. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample was designed to provide estimates specifically for persons of Mexican origin.