The age you’re most likely to end up in a doctor’s office is not when you’re young and dumb or elderly and frail.
According to new CDC data, the age group who use healthcare the most are those 55 to 64 who are just hitting retirement.
The rate at which these Americans visited health clinics was 418 per 1,000 people in 2022, compared to 315 in over-65s and 325 in adults 18-44.
Aside from age, not being married is also a risk for increased doctors appointments, with 48 percent of visits comprised of unmarried people, compared to 38 percent for those who were married.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of doctor’s visits were for diseases, including high blood pressure, digestive conditions and diabetes, a symptom of America’s chronic illness epidemic.
More women than men visited health clinics in 2022, at a rate of 445 per 1,000 women
Overall, 89.5million health clinic visits occurred in 2022, according to the CDC report based on the 2022 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Health Center Component.
This represents an increase over the estimated 82.3million visits the year prior.
The agency looked at data from health clinics, community-based healthcare centers that offer access to primary care for underserved communities.
The clinics receive federal funding and provide a wide array of services, including medical, vision and dental, prenatal care, vaccinations and cancer screenings.
The report shows in 2022, patients 18 to 44 years old made up the largest percentage of health clinic visits for any reason – at 43 percent – and those in that age group who weren’t married accounted for two-thirds of all visits.
Previous research has examined this discrepancy and found an association between marital status and health outcomes.
A 2019 study found people who were married had lower odds in the previous year of having an inpatient or nursing facility stay.
The researchers posited that married people have better health because they are more likely to have a higher income and private health insurance, as well as have a stronger support system and assistance in keeping up with appointments and their overall health.
Rates for clinic visits were highest among 55- to 64-year-olds, with 418 visits per 1,000 people in that age group.
Visits may be higher among this group because people 45 to 64 years old receive the majority of new diabetes diagnoses in the US, according to the CDC, which overlaps with the 55- to 64-year-olds included in the newest CDC report.
And 36 percent of 2022 visits were for endocrine and metabolic diseases – which includes diabetes – among this age group, the most of any age group included in the analysis.
These near-retirees also had the second-highest percentage – 26 percent – of visits due to diseases of the circulatory system, which includes high blood pressure.
Behind them were Americans 45 to 54 years old, which had a visit rate of 398 per 1,000. This was followed by 18- to 44-year-olds, which visited health clinics at a rate of 325 per 1,000 people.
And, surprisingly, people 65 and older had the lowest rate of health center visits – 316 per 1,000 people.
But this age group saw the largest increase in visits between 2010 and 2020 – rising 147 percent over the decade, which could be the result of an increasing aging population.
And women were more likely than men to visit doctors – 445 per 1,000 women compared to 249 per 1,000 men.
A majority of the clinic visits were disease-related, meaning people sought care for chronic conditions like those of the digestive or respiratory systems or musculoskeletal diseases.
This made up 61 percent of visits.
Among disease-related visits, the majority – 29 percent – were for endocrine and metabolic conditions, such as diabetes, which affects 38million Americans.
Accounting for the second-highest reason for visits were ‘factors influencing health status and contact with health services,’ at 42 percent.
Reasons within this category include routine vaccinations and exams, follow-up medical appointments, disease screenings, blood typing, reproductive services and consultations not related to a current symptom, injury or illness.
Mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders accounted for 22 percent – the fourth highest – of visits.
These rates declined with age, from 24.5 percent of visits by adults ages 18 to 44 to 15 percent by adults ages 65 and older.
Increasing with age, however, was hypertension, or high blood pressure. Among 18- to 44-year-olds it accounted for 6.5 percent of visits, compared to 33 percent in people 65 and older.
The CDC said screenings and exams were frequent reasons for health center visits, as data has shown that screening rates for cancer, diabetes, smoking, HIV and depression have all increased.
