More than half of senior living residents are managing chronic conditions including high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s and heart disease, while nearly two-thirds need help with three to six activities of daily living.

That’s according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on the characteristics of people living in assisted living and other senior housing communities. The report is based on data from the 2022 National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study.

More than half (55%) of the surveyed residents lived with two or three of the most commonly diagnosed chronic conditions. Another 19% lived with just one common chronic health condition, and 18% lived with four to ten of the most common chronic health conditions.

The most common chronic conditions among residential care community residents included high blood pressure, which 58% of residents reported having. Just under half of residents, 44%, had Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Another third were reported to have heart disease. Other chronic conditions included depression (26%), arthritis (18%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16%), diabetes (16%), osteoporosis (12%), stroke (7%) and cancer (6%).

Nearly two-thirds of the surveyed residents, 62%, needed help with three to six different activities of daily living (ADLs). Just over a quarter, 26%, needed help with one or two ADLs; while another 12% needed help with no ADLs.

Among residents who needed help with ADLs, three-quarters needed assistance with bathing, 71% required help with walking and 60% needed assistance with getting dressed.

It’s no secret that senior living residents need help with a long list of conditions. A 2022 study from NORC at the University of Chicago found that the average assisted living resident manages as many as 14 chronic health conditions.

The analysis also revealed that 17% of residential care community residents are Medicaid beneficiaries, and

About 67% of residential care community residents were women, and 92% were white, non-Hispanic, with 53% of those residents being 85 and older.

The report emphasizes that as the U.S. population ages, the number of residents in residential care communities is likely to increase, underscoring the importance of planning and resource allocation to meet the needs of this growing segment of the population.