Connecticut ranked as the third-healthiest state in the United Health Foundation’s 27th America’s recent Health Rankings Annual Report, moving up three spots from the 2015 report.
Not all health indicators are positive in Connecticut or the nation as a whole, though.
Nationally, there are concerning upticks in key health indicators that threaten to offset years of public health successes, according to a news release on the report.
The U.S. has made notable long-term improvements across key health indicators, including a reduction in the prevalence of smoking among adults; preventable hospitalizations have declined by 35 percent over the past decade; and in the past five years, the rate of uninsured Americans declined by 35 percent – from 16.2 percent to 10.6 percent, which is the lowest point in the report’s 27-year history, the release said.
The report, though, found serious challenges for the country that are eroding these gains. Those include: For the first time in the history of the report, the cardiovascular death rate has increased in the past year (from 250.8 to 251.7 deaths per 100,000); the rate of drug deaths has increased by 9 percent over the past five years, and increased by 4 percent in just the past year; the premature death rate has increased for the second consecutive year; the prevalence of obesity among adults has increased by an astounding 157 percent since the first report in 1990.
In Connecticut, among adults aged 25 years and older who did not graduate from high school, smoking and obesity are increasing at rates faster than the national average in this education level, the report said.
The report also noted high levels of air pollution in the state, high levels of excessive drinking and large health disparities based on educational attainment, according to a separate news release from the state Department of Public Health.
On the positive side, the report noted the state’s highest-in-the-nation childhood immunization rates and low incidences of infectious disease among reasons for the state’s high ranking.
DPH Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino praised the state’s No. 3 ranking.
“The report also shows that we have room for growth and improvement, particularly in the area of health equity,” he said in the release. “Our focus at DPH will continue to be working to address health disparities, which affect people throughout the state regardless of where they live. We are working to reduce high rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases that are driving up our healthcare costs, largely due to expensive, preventable hospital visits and hospital readmissions.”
