One in four Americans claim to be disabled, which is 70 million people.

More than one in four American adults say they have some kind of disability, the highest rate since the survey began nearly a decade ago.

That number will reach 71 million in 2022, or 28.7% of the population, according to CDC data that asks about cognitive, vision and mobility disabilities.

That’s up from 61 million, or 24.6% of adults, in 2016, the first year the CDC began collecting data on this demographic.

There are multiple reasons behind the increase, including an ageing population and a rise in chronic diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and obesity.

Now, the CDC has suggested it may also be linked to long Covid, which was included in the study for the first time.

The CDC tracks types of disabilities, including hearing, vision, cognitive, mobility, self-care and independent living.

Data collection involved asking people if they had various hearing or vision impairments, whether they were able to move around and work independently, and whether they had problems concentrating.

The CDC report was provided voluntarily by members of the public, and the agency could not verify the report’s medical accuracy.

Data collected in 2022, the most recent year available, shows that 7% of Americans, or about 18 million adults, report long-term COVID-19 illnesses.

Long Covid is characterised by a set of symptoms that linger after Covid infection, including respiratory problems, chronic fatigue, brain fog and headaches.

Research into Long Covid is ongoing, but there is skepticism about whether it is a distinct medical condition or simply a collection of background symptoms.

According to CDC data, Arkansas has the highest number of residents with disabilities, with 38% of residents reporting some kind of disability.

This was followed by West Virginia at 37 percent, and Louisiana and Mississippi at 36 percent.

Washington, DC, and Hawaii had the lowest rates of people reporting having a disability, at 21% and 22%, respectively, followed by New Jersey at 23% and Illinois at 24%.

Previous CDC reports have shown that rural counties have the highest rates of disability, with an estimated one-third of residents living with a disability.

Disability rates are disproportionately higher in states with more rural and remote areas than in urban areas, which may be due to less access to health care, including preventive care, occupational hazards in industries such as mining and agriculture, and the fact that rural areas tend to have older populations overall.

The latest figures were determined based on entries in the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which allows respondents to self-report up to six types of functional impairment.

In this roundup survey, for the first time, the CDC included questions about long Covid-related symptoms that affect people with disabilities, but did not refer to long Covid itself as a disorder.

“To better understand the relationship between disability and long COVID, we collected data on the experience of long COVID, defined as symptoms not present before COVID infection persisting for three months or more,” the institute said.

However, while the report does not explicitly state that disabilities reported in the BRFSS are directly related to long Covid, the data helps to better understand the relationship between disabilities and long Covid.

Specifically, participants who answered “yes” to the following questions were classified into one of six disability types: deafness (even with glasses), blindness, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, difficulty walking or climbing stairs, difficulty bathing or dressing on their own, or difficulty running errands on their own.

Long Covid symptoms were more prevalent among people with disabilities than those without, about 11% and 7%, respectively.

“CDC continues to work with clinicians, public health partners, and other federal agencies to understand the impacts of Long COVID more generally and to better identify and support the needs of people with disabilities based on data,” the agency said.

The disability rate among the elderly was the highest compared to any other age group, at 44% for those aged 65 and over.

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Additionally, when examining disability status by race/ethnicity, the highest prevalence rates were found among American Indian or Alaska Natives and Other/Multiracial, both at approximately 39 percent.

The CDC has previously said that among working-age adults with only one disability, the most common disability is mobility impairment (34%), followed by hearing impairment (24%) and cognitive impairment (about 23%).

The CDC said: “These findings underscore the fact that people with disabilities make up a large portion of every community and population. Many of us know someone with a disability or are disabled ourselves, and disability inclusion benefits everyone.”

“It’s important to remember that disability is not a health outcome, but part of how people experience life – hearing, seeing, moving, processing information and caring for themselves.”