Nation's health improvements nixed by chronic disease growth

After three years of steady but small improvements in health across the United States, a new survey finds that no progress was made in health improvement between 2010 and 2011.

United Health Foundation’s 2011 America’s Health Rankings found that gains made in smoking cessation, preventable hospitalizations and cardiovascular deaths were wiped out by increases in obesity, diabetes and childhood poverty.

[See also: Treating morbidly obese patients adds considerable cost; Parents rank obesity low on list of conditions warranting medical attention.]

“While this year’s Rankings show some important improvements, we also see some very alarming trends – particularly diabetes and obesity – that, left unchecked, will put further strain on our country’s already strained healthcare resources,” said Reed Tuckson, MD, United Health Foundation board member and executive vice president and chief of medical affairs, UnitedHealth Group, in a statement announcing the release of the rankings.

The rankings are a state-by-state view of population health based on 23 measures. The annual rankings are published by the United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention. Data comes from sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association, the Dartmouth Atlas Project, the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Key findings include:

• 2011 is the first year no state had an obesity rate under 20 percent.
• For the fifth year in a row, Vermont ranks as the country’s healthiest state.
• For the 10th year, Mississippi ranks last.
• 17.3 percent of the population smoked in 2011, down from 17.9 percent in 2010 – a 3.4 percent decline since 2010 and a 25.4 percent decline since 2001.
• There were 68.2 preventable hospitalizations per 1,000 Medicare enrollees in 2011, down from 70.6 preventable hospitalizations in 2010 – a 3.4 percent decline since 2010 and a 17.3 percent decline since 2001.
• There were 270.4 cardiovascular deaths per 100,000 in 2011, down from 278.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2010 – a 2.8 percent decline since 2010 and a 22.2 percent decline since 2001.
• Obesity increased to 27.5 percent of the adult population in 2011, up from 26.9 percent of the adult population in 2010 – a 2.2 percent increase since 2010 and a 37.5 percent increase since 2001.
• Diabetes increased to 8.7 percent of the population in 2011, up from 8.3 percent in 2010 – a 4.8 percent increase since 201 and a 42.6 percent increase since 2001.
• Childhood poverty increased to 21.5 percent in 2011, up from 20.7 percent in 2010 – a 3.9 percent increase since 2010 and a 33.5 percent increase since 2001.

“At a time when the nation, states and individual families are grappling with tightening budgets and growing healthcare expenses, this year’s Rankings sends a loud wakeup call that the burden of preventable chronic disease will continue to get worse unless we take urgent action,” added Tuckson. “Broad collaboration is the only path to health and financial progress. Government, the private sector, philanthropy and community-based organizations all need to join in a data-driven process to determine and address priorities.”

Follow HFN associate editor Stephanie Bouchard on Twitter @SBouchardHFN.