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11/16/2004: Well, thank God for Mississippi and Louisiana, at least....
Tennessee is the 48th healthiest state in the Union.
Or to put it another way, we're the third most unhealthy state.
Tennessee is 48th this year; it was 46th in 2003. Its strengths are a low rate of uninsured population at 13.2 percent and moderate access to prenatal care with 77.1 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care. Challenges include a high infant mortality rate at 9.2 deaths per 1,000 live births and a low high school graduation rate with 56.7 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years. The state also ranks in the bottom 10 states on seven of the other individual measures, including a high prevalence of smoking, a high prevalence of obesity, a high violent crime rate, a high rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease, a high rate of cancer deaths, a high total mortality rate and a high premature death rate. Tennessee is 44th for the combined measures of risk factors and 46th for the combined measures of outcomes, suggesting that the state's health is likely to remain at the same relative healthiness in the near future. Health disparity is present within the state, as illustrated by differences in premature death rates between black non-Hispanic individuals (14,538 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population) and white non-Hispanic individuals (8,395 years lost).Sounds like something to be proud of, eh?
Len on 11.16.04 @ 11:39 AM CST
