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Data in this report from health and demographic surveys present statistics by age and other variables on food consumption profiles; ambulatory medical care; utilization of selected medical practitioners; contraceptive efficacy among married women; health characteristics of minority groups; and a comparison of nursing home residents and discharges. Estimates are based on the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. These reports were originally published in 1978.

Abstract: Trends in health status, health services and health care expenditures in the United States are presented in chart form with supplementary comments. Selected data are categorized by sex and color, and cover such areas as life expectancy, infant mortality rates, people who smoke, utilization of hospitals and doctors, and causes of cost increase. For example, health care now consumes 9.1% of the GNP as compared to 4.5% in 1950; most of those costs were due not to population growth but to an increase in quantity and quality of service.