Health status indicators: definitions and national data.

In July 1991 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a set of 18 health status indicators and encouraged their use by federal, State, and local health agencies. The indicators were developed in response to Objective 22.1 of Healthy People 2000 through a consensus process described in a previous Statistical Notes. This article recommends detailed definitions, suggests national data sources, and provides national baseline data for each indicator.