Health in the United States refers to the overall health of the population of the United States. The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being".World Health Organization. (2006). Constitution of the World Health Organization – Basic Documents, Forty-fifth edition, Supplement, October 2006. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors health and longevity in the United States, average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. reached 79.0 years in 2024 (76.5 years for men and 81.4 years for women), a historical record. Heart diseases are responsible for the greatest number of deaths in the country.
All 50 states in the U.S. require immunization for children in order to enroll in public schools, but various exemptions (including for religious reasons) are available according to the laws of each state. Immunizations are often compulsory for military enlistment in the United States.
It is estimated that one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental health disorder, with 50% receiving treatment for their condition. Sexually transmitted infections impact the health of approximately 19 million yearly. The two most commonly reported infections include chlamydia and gonorrhea.
In the context of ensuring the continuation of medical services, concerns of a current and future shortage of medical doctors due to the supply and demand for physicians in the United States have come from multiple entities including professional bodies such as the American Medical Association (AMA), with the subject being analyzed as well by the American news media in publications such as Forbes, The Nation, and Newsweek. In the 2010s, a study released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) titled The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034 specifically projected a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 individuals within the following two decades, approximately.
Obesity has long been a common stereotype associated with Americans
Chronic conditions
Sexually transmitted infections Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that there are approximately 19 million new STIs yearly. The country experienced a reduction in reported STIs early in the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to reduction in care devoted to them, but rates have rebounded in ensuing years. The two most commonly reported infections with 1.5 million total cases (2009) are chlamydia and gonorrhea. Adolescent girls (15–19 years of age) and young women (20–24 years of age) are especially affected by these two diseases.Chlamydia and Gonorrhea — Two Most Commonly Reported Infectious Diseases in the United States, CDC, April 22, 2011
Chlamydia Chlamydia remains the most commonly reported infection in the United States. There were more than 1.2 million cases of chlamydia (1,244,180) reported to CDC in 2009, the largest number of cases ever reported to CDC for any condition. The rate reached 1.6 million cases in 2020, which was actually a decrease from 2016.
Gonorrhea There were 301,174 reported cases of gonorrhea in 2009 (10 percent less than in 2008), making gonorrhea the second most commonly reported infection in the U.S. In 2009, the gonorrhea rate for women was slightly higher than for men. By 2020, there were more than twice as many cases reported, about 678,000, a 45% increase from 2016.
Syphilis In 2009, there were 13,997 reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis — the most infectious stages of the disease — the highest number of cases since 1995 and an increase over 2007 (11,466 cases). The number of cases was ten times the 2009 figure by 2020, about 134,000, more than a 50% increase from 2016. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 11, 2023, syphilis is now at a rate not seen since the 1950s, increasing by about 30 percent between 2020 and 2021, a big jump from syphilis rates recorded in the early 2000s, where only about 30,000 cases were recorded each year.
Specific outbreaks, plagues, and epidemics in the United States Foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States
1775–1782 smallpox epidemic 1793 yellow fever epidemic 1829–1851 cholera pandemic 1847 typhus epidemic 1863–1875 cholera pandemic 1900–1904 San Francisco plague 1918 flu pandemic 1976 Philadelphia legionellosis outbreak 1985 salmonellosis outbreak 1985 California listeriosis outbreak 1998 listeriosis outbreak 2006 North American E. coli outbreaks 2009 flu pandemic 2011 listeriosis outbreak 2019 Pacific Northwest measles outbreak 2020–2023 COVID-19 pandemic
Vaccination
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices makes scientific recommendations which are generally followed by the federal government, state governments, and private health insurance companies.
All 50 U.S. states mandate immunizations for children in order to enroll in public school, but various exemptions are available depending on the state. All states also have exemptions for people who have medical contraindications to vaccines; all states except for California, Maine, Mississippi, New York, and West Virginia allow religious exemptions, while sixteen states allow parents to cite personal, conscientious, philosophical, or other objections. An increasing number of parents are using religious and philosophical exemptions; researchers have cited this increased use of exemptions as contributing to loss of herd immunity within these communities, and hence an increasing number of disease outbreaks.
The growing trend of vaccine hesitancy is seen as one of the key factors behind the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly measles. Studies show that localized outbreaks have occurred in communities with high rates of exemptions, where vaccine coverage is below the critical threshold for herd immunity. For instance, the 2014-2015 measles outbreak in the United States, which primarily affected unvaccinated children, highlighted the vulnerability of these communities. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of misinformation on social media platforms has exacerbated vaccine hesitancy, making it a public health challenge. As a result, some states, such as California, have implemented stricter vaccination requirements to curb these trends.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises physicians to respect the refusal of parents to vaccinate their child after adequate discussion, unless the child is put at significant risk of harm (e.g., during an epidemic, or after a deep and contaminated puncture wound). Under such circumstances, the AAP states that parental refusal of immunization constitutes a form of medical neglect and should be reported to state child protective services agencies.
See Vaccination schedule for the vaccination schedule used in the United States.
Immunizations are often compulsory for military enlistment in the U.S.
All vaccines recommended by the U.S. government for its citizens are required for green card applicants. This requirement stirred controversy when it was applied to the HPV vaccine in July 2008 because of the cost of the vaccine, and because the other thirteen required vaccines prevent diseases which are spread by a respiratory route and are considered highly contagious, while HPV is only spread through sexual contact. In November 2009, this requirement was canceled.
The controversy surrounding mandatory vaccination has often revolved around the balance between public health measures and individual rights. Ethical debates regarding vaccine mandates have been influenced by concerns over bodily autonomy and parental rights. However, numerous studies emphasize that vaccination mandates are essential for protecting public health and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Mandatory vaccination laws are associated with higher immunization rates and lower incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases, supporting the argument that such laws are effective public health interventions.
Schools The United States has a long history of school vaccination requirements. The first school vaccination requirement was enacted in the 1850s in Massachusetts to prevent the spread of smallpox. The school vaccination requirement was put in place after the compulsory school attendance law caused a rapid increase in the number of children in public schools, increasing the risk of smallpox outbreaks. The early movement towards school vaccination laws began at the local level including counties, cities, and boards of education. By 1827, Boston had become the first city to mandate that all children entering public schools show proof of vaccination. In addition, in 1855 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had established its own statewide vaccination requirements for all students entering school; this influenced other states to implement similar statewide vaccination laws in schools as seen in New York in 1862, Connecticut in 1872, Pennsylvania in 1895, and later the Midwest, South. and Western U.S. By 1963, 20 states had school vaccination laws.
These school vaccination resulted in political debates throughout the United States, as those opposed to vaccination sought to overturn local policies and state laws. An example of this political controversy occurred in 1893 in Chicago, where less than 10 percent of the children were vaccinated despite the twelve-year-old state law. Resistance was seen at the local level of the school district as some local school boards and superintendents opposed the state vaccination laws, leading the state board health inspectors to examine vaccination policies in schools. Resistance proceeded during the mid-1900s and in 1977 a nationwide Childhood Immunization Initiative was developed with the goal of increasing vaccination rates among children to 90% by 1979. During the two-year period of observation, the initiative reviewed the immunization records of more than 28 million children and vaccinated children who had not received the recommended vaccines.
This push for increased immunization rates has been supported by research showing that childhood vaccination initiatives, such as the 1977 Childhood Immunization Initiative, led to a significant reduction in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, rubella, and diphtheria. The initiative, along with other vaccination campaigns, contributed to the widespread acceptance of immunizations as a standard practice in American schools. Today, school vaccination requirements continue to be a major strategy for preventing outbreaks of infectious diseases. However, the rise in vaccine hesitancy and exemptions has undermined some of the progress made, requiring public health officials to rethink vaccination policies in schools.Hamson, Elizabeth (June 8, 2023). "Impact of pandemics and disruptions to vaccination on infectious diseases epidemiology past and present". Retrieved December 20, 2024.
In 1922, the constitutionality of childhood vaccination was examined in the Supreme Court case Zucht v. King. The court decided that a school could deny admission to children who failed to provide a certification of vaccination for the protection of the public health. In 1987, a measles epidemic occurred in Maricopa County, Arizona, and another court case, Maricopa County Health Department vs. Harmon, examined the arguments of an individual's right to education over the state's need to protect against the spread of disease. The court decided that it is prudent to take action to combat the spread of disease by denying un-vaccinated children a place in school until the risk for the spread of measles has passed.