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Join Date: July 11, 2002
Location: Chicago, IL
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Southern States Are Least Healthy
Annual Rankings Show U.S. Health 15% Better Than in 1990
By Lisa Habib
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
WebMD Medical News
Nov. 11, 2002 -- It's apparently good for your health to live in New England, and not so good in the South. An annual ranking of states according to the health of their populations shows five of the top 10 states are in the Northeast and seven of the bottom 10 are in the South.
The UnitedHealth Foundation ranks New Hampshire as the healthiest state for the sixth time in the 13 years of the rankings. In the top 10, New Hampshire is followed by Minnesota, Massachusetts, Utah, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa, Colorado, North Dakota, and Maine.
The least healthy state is Louisiana. The bottom ten are West Virginia, New Mexico, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The foundation based its rankings on factors including smoking, motor vehicle deaths, heart disease risk, high school graduation rates, children in poverty, prenatal care, access to health insurance, and public spending on healthcare.
It also took into account deaths from and incidence of certain diseases, deaths on the job, infant mortality, and premature death.
According to the foundation's report, the rankings reflect a state's average resident. But major disparities exist among people of different races in all states. For example, black adults have a far greater chance of dying before age 75 than Asians. And white, pregnant women are far more likely to get prenatal care than Native Americans.
Overall, the health of the United States declined by less than a percentage point from 2001 to 2002. The foundation attributed that to a decrease in public spending on healthcare and an increase in premature death (before age 75).
About 20 states had much improved health scores this year from the year before. The best increases were in Wyoming, Nevada, and South Dakota, which significantly reduced the number of their children living in poverty and improved other conditions.
Twenty-six states had worse health scores; the biggest decreases were in Maryland, Alaska, and Mississippi -- where smoking actually increased.
Since the UnitedHealth Foundation began ranking states in 1990, it says the health of the U.S. has improved 15.5% and all states individually have improved. The prime reasons are:
22% fewer smokers
40% fewer motor vehicle deaths
17% decrease in violent crime
11% increase in prenatal care
100% increase in public spending
32% reduction in infant mortality
The UnitedHealth Foundation is a private, nonprofit health information organization. It based its report on data from federal agencies.
State Health Rankings
1. New Hampshire
2. Minnesota
3 Massachusetts
4. Utah
5. Connecticut
6. Vermont
7. Iowa (tie)
7. Colorado (tie)
9. North Dakota
10. Maine
11. Washington (tie)
11. Wisconsin (tie)
13. Rhode Island
14. Hawaii
15. Nebraska
16. South Dakota
17. Oregon
18. Virginia
19. New Jersey
20. Idaho
21. Kansas
22. Indiana
23. Pennsylvania
24. Montana (tie)
24. California (tie)
26. Wyoming
27. Ohio
28. Maryland
29. Michigan
30. Alaska
31. Illinois
32. New York (tie)
32. Missouri (tie)
34. Arizona
35. Delaware
36. North Carolina
37. Texas
38. Nevada
39. Kentucky
40. Georgia
41. West Virginia
42. New Mexico
43. Florida
44. Tennessee
45. Alabama
46. Oklahoma
47. Arkansas
48. South Carolina
49. Mississippi
50. Louisiana
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