Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Forest plot of logistic regression results of behavioral health diagnoses and substance use on communication disabilities, compared with persons without communication disabilities. Abbreviation: ADD/ADHD, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Figure 2.
Forest plot of logistic regression results of behavioral health experiences on communication disabilities, compared with persons without communication disabilities. Abbreviation: NSPD, Nonspecific Psychological Distress.
Tables
Voice “During the past 12 months, have you had any problems or difficulties with your voice, such as having a hoarse, raspy, or strained voice, or with difficulty speaking loud enough to be heard” Speech “During the past 12 months, have you had a speech problem, such as stuttering, repeating words, or not being able to pronounce words properly” Language “During the past 12 months, have you had a language problem, such as problems using or understanding words or sentences” Questions from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey Sample Adult Questionnaire Supplement on Communication Disabilities.
No Communication Disability Voice Only Disability Speech/Language Only Disability Speech/Language & Voice Disability % (n) % (n) % (n) % (n) Total 90.2 (29,873) 6.4 (2169) 2.2 (730) 1.2 (450) Any other disability 14.7 (5076) 24.1 (623) 52.8 (426) 64.0 (318) Multiple chronic conditions None 50.2 (14,249) 32.1 (603) 31.7 (208) 20.7 (77) One 25.0 (7474) 27.5 (582) 24.4 (176) 17.9 (79) > 1 24.9 (8150) 40.4 (984) 43.9 (346) 61.5 (294) Race/ethnicity Hispanic 15.3 (5242) 9.1 (230) 15.0 (127) 14.5 (71) White, non-Hispanic 66.8 (17,907) 76.7 (1537) 65.9 (412) 66.5 (266) Black, non-Hispanic 11.6 (4467) 10.8 (313) 14.4 (153) 14.7 (89) Other, Non-Hispanic 6.2 (2257) 3.4 (89) 4.7 (38) 4.3 (24) Married 54.1 (13,284) 50.2 (862) 36.1 (211) 36.8 (129) Employed 62.2 (17,803) 57.2 (1155) 39.0 (277) 37.2 (144) Educational attainment Less than high school 13.7 (4658) 11.7 (279) 22.5 (199) 28.6 (133) High school graduate 26.2 (7739) 22.9 (527) 30.4 (207) 30.8 (132) Some college 20.4 (5908) 22.4 (478) 21.6 (155) 23.3 (96) College degree 39.7 (11,568) 43.0 (885) 25.4 (169) 17.2 (89) Poverty status* < 100% FPL 13.4 (5003) 12.9 (374) 25.0 (216) 25.6 (133) 100 to 199% FPL 19.0 (5425) 19.2 (404) 25.7 (168) 28.2 (108) 200 to 399% FPL 29.8 (7546) 30.7 (578) 27.2 (163) 30.0 (106) ≥ 400% FPL 37.7 (8780) 37.3 (608) 22.1 (117) 16.3 (63) Health insurance Uninsured 17.0 (5419) 12.7 (300) 18.7 (139) 16.7 (64) Public only 16.4 (5852) 17.6 (464) 32.5 (276) 39.0 (200) Any private 66.6 (18,602) 69.7 (1405) 48.9 (315) 44.2 (186) Region of residence Northeast 18.3 (5034) 16.4 (337) 16.4 (99) 11.9 (53) Midwest 22.3 (6094) 28.2 (556) 24.3 (154) 23.0 (86) South 36.5 (10,889) 36.1 (759) 37.1 (281) 40.5 (178) West 22.9 (7856) 19.3 (517) 22.1 (196) 24.6 (133) Female 51.0 (16,461) 66.3 (1464) 48.6 (370) 48.5 (244) Age, years 18 to 24 12.7 (2935) 12.0 (217) 20.8 (95) 17.4 (48) 25 to 34 18.0 (5461) 15.7 (326) 14.7 (114) 10.4 (44) 35 to 44 17.3 (5106) 14.3 (306) 13.2 (100) 11.8 (52) 45 to 54 18.6 (5153) 18.7 (350) 16.9 (120) 17.7 (80) 55 to 64 16.1 (5019) 16.4 (385) 17.3 (147) 18.4 (97) ≥ 65 17.3 (6199) 22.9 (585) 17.2 (154) 24.4 (129) FPL, federal poverty line.
Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
↵* Poverty status was imputed by the National Center for Health Statistics. The sample sizes shown are from the cases that were not imputed.
Communication Disability No communication Disability Voice Only Disability Speech/Language Only Disability Speech/Language and Voice Disability % (n) % (n) P* % (n) P* % (n) P* Ever diagnosed with ADD/ADHD 3.8 (940) 4.8 (103) .076‡,‖ 14.2 (89) <.001‡ 11.7 (52) <.001‖ Bipolar disorder 1.8 (578) 3.5 (84) <.001‡,‖ 11.7 (76) <.001‡ 11.4 (45) <.001‖ In the past 12 months… Diagnoses Phobia/fears 3.3 (986) 7.1 (156) <.001‡,‖ 12.8 (102) <.001‡ 21.4 (84) <.001‖ Depression 8.6 (2880) 15.1 (381) <.001‡,‖ 30.4 (232) <.001‡ 35.9 (178) <.001‖ Other mental health disorders 2.1 (696) 4.3 (106) <.001‡,‖ 13.1 (107) <.001‡ 15.4 (62) <.001‖ Substance use Excessive alcohol or tobacco use 5.5 (1714) 7.1 (170) .004‡,‖ 15.5 (109) <.001‡ 15.7 (63) <.001‖ Other substance abuse 0.7 (200) 0.7 (21) .979 1.6 (11) .024 1.5 (8) .075 Experiences Fatigue or lack of energy for > 3 days 13 (4010) 31.6 (717) <.001‖ 38.7 (291) <.001¶ 54.3 (264) <.001‖,¶ Regularly had excessive sleepiness 10.5 (3249) 24 (568) <.001‡,‖ 38.1 (282) <.001‡,¶ 55.2 (255) <.001‖,¶ Regularly had insomnia or trouble sleeping 17 (5405) 34.9 (794) <.001‖ 42.2 (327) <.001 53.8 (254) <.001‖ Frequently anxious, nervous, or worried 16.5 (5173) 34 (765) <.001‡,‖ 51.2 (389) <.001‡ 57.4 (275) <.001‖ Frequently stressed 26.4 (7969) 47.1 (1027) <.001‡,‖ 57.5 (420) <.001‡ 62.4 (296) <.001‖ Difficulty participating in social activities 8.4 (2837) 16.2 (417) <.001‡,‖ 33.9 (280 <.001‡,¶ 47.2 (231) <.001‖,¶ Health care utilization Visited mental health professional 6.8 (2133) 11.4 (265) <.001‡,‖ 19.1 (152) <.001‡ 23.1 (108) <.001‖ Could not afford mental health visit 2 (687) 4 (90) <.001‡,‖ 11.9 (76) <.001‡ 11.7 (54) <.001‖ In the past 30 days… Non-specific psychological distress (K-6) 2.3 (787) 4.6 (117) <.001‡,‖ 14.7 (112) <.001‡ 22.3 (105) <.001‖ Feelings interfered with life/activities† 11.2 (885) 10.7 (124) .716‡,‖ 30.2 (138) <.001‡ 27.9 (106) <.001‖ ↵* Statistical significance compares each communication disability group to the group with no communication disabilities.
↵† n = 9510; This question was only asked of persons who reported at least one of the items queried in the K6 “all”, “most,” or “some” of the time.
↵‡ Comparison of voice only with speech/language only, P < .0029.
↵‖ Comparison of voice only with speech/language and voice, P < .0029.
¶ Comparison of speech/language only with speech/language and voice, P < .0029.
ADD/ADHD, attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
