29 and holding: Illinois' health ranking no better, no worse

This article appeared in The News-Gazette on 12/8/2010 reported by Deb Pressey.

In a new report evaluating each state’s healthiness, Illinois lands right about in the middle as the 29th healthiest state in the union.


That’s the same ranking the state held last year, so we didn't get any worse but we didn't improve, either.


The report, entitled America’s Health Rankings, is done annually by United Health Foundation. It identifies national trends and also some state-specific strengths and challenges.


For 2010, Vermont was ranked the healthiest state, followed by Massachusetts, and Mississippi came in last.


Among the encouraging notes in this year's report: America’s violent crime, infectious disease, cardiovascular deaths and preventable hospitalizations all declined.


Some alarming national trends pointing to not enough people getting the message about quitting smoking, eating healthier and exercising:


— Obesity has risen 132 percent from 11.6 percent of the population in 1990 to 26.9 percent this year.
— Tobacco use is at a 21-year low, but it’s still unacceptably high.
— The number of adults with diabetes is up 19 percent over 2005.
— Last year’s one percent improvement in health nationally is better than the previous decade, but it’s still falling short of the gains in better health that were occurring in the 1990s.
— There has been a steady increase in the number of children living in poverty since 2007, to 20.7 percent this year, hindering the ability to maintain a healthy population.


Here is some information from the Illinois state report:
Illinois’ health strengths include a low occupational fatalities rate at 3.5 deaths per 100,000 workers, ready access to early prenatal care with 86.0 percent of pregnant women receiving prenatal care during the first trimester, ready availability of primary care physicians with 129.5 primary care physicians per 100,000 population and a high rate of high school graduation with 79.5 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years.


Illinois’ challenges include a high prevalence of binge drinking at 18.5 percent of the population, a high rate of preventable hospitalizations with 81.1 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees, high levels of air pollution at 12.5 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter and a high violent crime rate at 497 offenses per 100,000 population.


Illinois' significant changes in the past year:
— In the past year, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 21.3 percent to 18.5 percent of the population.
— In the past year, public health funding increased from $55 to $62 per person.
— In the past 10 years, the prevalence of obesity increased from 20.9 percent to 27.3 percent of the population.
— Since 1990, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease decreased from 431.7 to 284.7 deaths per 100,000 population.


To read the complete report for Illinois, click here.