More Americans Have Chronic Health Conditions

A new government report found that nearly half of all U.S. adults over the age of 65 have at least one chronic health condition, such as hypertension or diabetes. Broken down by gender, 49 percent of men and 42.5 percent of women reported that they had at least two chronic health conditions.

The data was culled from 2010 information. Previous data from 2000 showed that 39.2 percent of men and 35.8 percent of women had multiple chronic health conditions.

The increases were due mainly to rises in three conditions: hypertension, diabetes and cancer. These increases may be due to more new cases or people living longer with the conditions because of advances in medical treatments.

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