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Show POPULATION BY AGE The proportion of the population under the age of 5 in Utah decreased by 3.2% between 1980 and 1990, while the nation's increased by 0.3 percent. The proportion of the population between the ages of 5 and 17 years in Utah increased between 1980 and 1990 by 2.6 percent, while in the nation it decreased by 2.8 percent. The proportion of the population 65 years and older in Utah increased 1.08 percent between 1980 and 1990 and 1.1 percent for the nation (Table 3, Figure 5). Table 3 Population by Age (Percentages) Age Year Utah U.S. under 5 1980 1990 13.0 9.8 7.2 7.5 5-17 yrs 1980 1990 24.0 26.6 21.0 18.2 65+ yrs 1980 1990 7.5 8.7 11.3 12.5 median age (yr.) 1980 1990 24.0 26.0 30.0 33.0 population has a lower mortality rate and utilizes fewer health care resources. Older populations tend to have more health care needs and utilize more health care dollars. Utah currently ranks second highest in the proportion of the population under five years of age, first in the proportion of the population aged five to seventeen, and 50th in the proportion of the population 65 and over.1 Since poor health is correlated with age, health statistics of two populations should be compared as age-adjusted rates. Given Utah's unique age distribution, age-adjusted data are especially important when comparing Utah with other populations. Age adjustments are common in reporting mortality data, but less common in reporting other measures such as hospital days and health care costs. For example, most hospital stays of an older individual are longer and costlier. Thus states with older populations are likely to appear worse off in measures of health care utilization and health care costs. 1 Utah State Economic Coordinating Committee.. (1994). Economic Report to the Governor 1994. Salt Lake City: Author, p. 75. Population distribution by age is especially important to health and health care. A younger Figure 5 Age Distribution in Utah 30% -r c 25% - -o "][ 20% A 2 15%+13% <u c 10% + u u 0J 5% 0% 27% 24% 10% EJ 1980 ¦ 1990 8% 9% + Under 5 5-17 yrs 65+yrs Figure 6 Age Distribution in the U.S. 25% j 3 20%-- •a g 15% - ^ 10% - 4-1 I I 5% -0% 21% 7% 8% 18% liit III EJ 1980 H 1990 11% 13% ill!! ill Under 5 5-17 yrs 65+yrs Utah's Health: An Annual Review 1994 |