Survey: Majority of U.S. adults concerned poor health may impair life experiences
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A survey conducted by the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association revealed that seven in 10 U.S. adults are concerned that poor health will prevent them from living their lives to the fullest.
The survey conducted by Know Diabetes by Heart, an initiative of the AHA and ADA, asked 2,000 U.S. adults about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their outlook on time with loved ones and the role that their health plays in living a quality life.
The association reported that respondents with type 2 diabetes (89%), heart disease (90%) or stroke (87%) were more concerned that health would limit their ability to live a full life compared with respondents with none of those conditions (58%).
“Controlling blood glucose and managing and modifying risk factors for heart disease and stroke has never been more important,” Eduardo Sanchez, MD, MPH, FAAFP, American Heart Association chief medical officer for prevention, said in a press release. “If there’s a silver lining in all of this, perhaps it’s a new appreciation for wellness and emphasis on controlling the controllable, the existing threats to our health that we know more about and have more tools to manage.”
The survey also identified several generational differences with respect to the impact of health on life experiences:
- Approximately 65% were worried loved ones would not be healthy enough to experience life moments alongside them;
- Millennials (73%) and Generation X (69%) expressed greater concern compared with Generation Z (59%) and baby boomers (58%);
- Gen Z participants were most concerned about health limiting their life experiences (75%), compared with baby boomers who were the least worried (63%); and
- Baby boomers reported greater prioritization of their health as they aged (68%) compared with Gen Z (34%), millennials (48%) and Gen X (65%).
According the release, eight in 10 survey participants reported that the pandemic had made daily experiences with loved ones more special. Moreover, 85% reported the pandemic made them more grateful for time with loved ones.
“If you want to have the full life you are hoping for on the other side of COVID-19, then resume your doctor appointments, check your health numbers, like blood glucose — and if you have diabetes, your hemoglobin A1c — cholesterol and blood pressure, and get a plan for preventing heart disease and stroke,” Robert H. Eckel, MD, ADA president of medicine and science, past president of the AHA and emeritus professor of medicine in the divisions of cardiology and endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, emeritus professor of physiology and biophysics and Charles A. Boettcher II Chair in Atherosclerosis at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said in the release. “Taking medications as prescribed is also an important thing you can do for yourself and the people you love.”
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