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SALT LAKE CITY — Even though Utah didn't make visible strides in improving its overall health this year, officials are optimistic to have not lost ground.
The Beehive State is still among the Top 10 healthiest states in the nation, ranking 7th for the second year in a row in the United Health Foundation's America's Health Rankings report.
In its 22nd year, the report analyzes a comprehensive set of state-by-state behaviors, public and health policies, community and environmental conditions, and clinical care data to provide a holistic view of the health of the nation. Overall, the country has been able to reduce smoking rates over the past year, as well as decrease cardiovascular deaths, according to the report.
However, troubling increases in obesity, diabetes and the number of children living in poverty are offsetting the improvements noted between 2010 and 2011.
Left unchecked, Minnesota doctor and UHF board member Reed Tuckson said increasing rates "will put further strain on our country's already strained health care resources."
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The report, meant to spur prevention measures and health improvement plans throughout the nation, also includes several positive trends.
Utah's low smoking, binge drinking and cancer death rates helped it hang onto 7th place in the rankings. However, as mimicked in the national trends, more adults in the state were found to be diabetic or obese.
"Our goal is to help Utahns become the healthiest people in the nation. To do that, we must drastically cut our obesity rate, which threatens overall health through diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other conditions," said Dr. David Patton, director of the Utah Department of Health.
Compared to last year, Utah showed a 10 percent drop in the number of preventable hospitalizations among Medicare enrollees for conditions like asthma, pneumonia, congestive heart failure and diabetes, which "means our hospitals are sending people home with good self-care plans that the patients are following," Patton said.
Utah fares well in several other areas as well, landing in the top three in eight of 23 measured categories, including infant mortality rates, which is 3rd in the nation in Utah.
Utah fell from 30th in 2010 to 47th this year in childhood immunization rates, and state epidemiologist Dr. Robert Rolfs pointed to a widespread measles outbreak earlier this year, saying it "is a reminder that we need parents to step up and take advantage of this simple, life-saving measure."
He said that countless hours were spent battling the disease, which began with a single case brought into the state by an unvaccinated Utah child who had traveled to Europe with family.
Utah ranks 5th in the number of violent crimes committed, however, not so well when compared with the rest of the nation for the number of occupational fatalities (30th), infectious disease (36th) and air pollution (22nd).
The state struggled with geographic disparity, ranking 42nd of 50, as Patton said rural areas could use more primary care physicians. And while the state is 3rd for the number of adults with diabetes, still 123,000 Utahns are affected.
Twenty-three percent, or approximately 435,000 Utahns are obese, according to the report. Nationally, 27.5 percent of Americans fit that classification, and the number keeps growing year after year.
Vermont remains the country's healthiest state, as New York and New Jersey showed the most substantial improvement since last year. Idaho witnessed the most dramatic drop in health rankings, landing 10 spots below where it ranked last year. Rounding out the top five healthiest states includes New Hampshire, Connecticut, Hawaii and Massachusetts.
The complete report and rankings can be found online, at www.americashealthrankings.org.
Email:wleonard@ksl.com
