Amid the increasing noise about health care -- as insurance companies, doctors, politicians, patients, liberals and conservatives all try to out-argue the opposition's ideas about reforming this country's jacked-up system -- one set of numbers recently caught our attention.
Last month, a Columbia-based non-profit called Primaris Healthcare Business Solutions put out a report ranking the overall health of Missourians compared to the other states and in some instances the District of Columbia. Its conclusions: Not good at all.
Cancer rates: Missouri ranks 40th out of 51.
Sick facts: Black people get and die from lung, colorectal and cervical cancer more often than white people. White women are five times more likely than black women to have breast cancer, but black women are more likely to die from it.
Diabetes: 24th out of 51.
Sick facts: "In 2006, Missouri spent an estimated $3 billion on diabetes-related care. Much of this money is spent on treating the disease rather than prevention."
Heart Disease: 40 out of 51
Sick fact: "In 2005, Missouri hospital charges for heart disease topped out at nearly $3 billion." This, despite the fact that "the major risk factors for heart disease are related to lifestyle habits that are largely preventable" -- i.e., smoking, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. "The prevalence of all seven of these modifiable risk factors is higher in Missouri than in the nation as a whole."
HIV/AIDs: 28 out of 51
Sick fact: Despite massive efforts to prevent new HIV infections, the rates are holding steady instead of going down. "Most alarming is that as many as 30 percent of those infected with HIV are unaware of it."
Infant Mortality: 35 out of 50
Sick fact: "While other states have been improving, Missouri's infant mortality rate has changed little over the past ten years ... African-American babies are almost twice as likely as white babies to have a low birth weight. ... These babies are also more likely to die than white babies, to be born preterm, and to suffer birth traumas and infections."
Kidney Disease: 36 out of 50
Sick fact: "Missouri's high rates of end-stage renal disease may be attributed to high rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity in the state."
Obese/Overweight: 34 out of 51
Sick fact: As of 2006, as many as 63 percent of Missourians were obese or overweight.
Physical Inactivity: 30 out of 51
Sick fact: As of 2007, only 30.9 percent of Missouri 12th graders got the recommended amount of physical activity.
Smoking: 45 out of 51
Sick fact: "Most current smokers begin smoking before their 18th birthday. ... In Missouri, 21 percent of high school students grades 9-12 are current smokers."
Stroke: 39 out of 51
Sick fact: "In 2005, African Americans were one-fourth to one-third more likely to die from stroke."
Here's a PDF of the full report, with many more unpleasant details as well as context, source information and occasional recommendations for solutions. It's obvious that many of our ailments are due to our own bad behavior -- whether it's on an individual level, with people eating like crap, smoking and avoiding doctors, or and the public-policy level, with state lawmakers refusing to fund more access to preventative healthcare for kids and poor people. We just don't take very good care of ourselves in this state.
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