How Georgia Ranks on 63 Key Health Measures

ATLANTA, GA — There's not a lot for Georgia to be proud of in the latest America's Health Rankings report — a collection of more than 60 key measures that help determine a state's overall health. Measures include health issues like diabetes and cholesterol rates, environmental conditions like air pollution and water quality, and social factors like graduation rates and unemployment.

Overall, Georgia ranked 41st among the 50 states — that's down one spot from 2015. Hawaii is considered the healthiest state, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont. The state at the bottom of the list was Mississippi at 50.

America's Health Rankings is the longest-running annual assessment of the nation's health based on state results, according to the report's sponsors at the United Health Foundation and the American Public Health Association.

Data used to determine the rankings comes from the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Medical Association and more. See the complete report at American Health Rankings online.

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Georgia ranked 39th for senior health and 45th for the health of women and children, according to the report.

The state's strengths included a low rate of drug deaths compared to other states and a high rate of immunizations among children.

The report found physical inactivity increased in the state to 27.3 percent of adults, from 23.6 percent in 2015. At 49th, children in poverty was one of the state's worst measures. According to study authors, the percentage of children in poverty has increased in the state from 16.4 percent 15 years ago to 28.7 percent this year.

Here are Georgia's rankings on 63 key measures included in the report:

• Air Pollution 36
• Behaviors 32
• Binge Drinking 16
• Cancer Deaths 30
• Cardiovascular Deaths 36
• Children in Poverty 49
• Chlamydia 42
• Cholesterol Check 17
• Chronic Drinking 14
• Clinical Care 44
• Colorectal Cancer Screening 26
• Community & Environment 46
• Dental Visit, Annual 38
• Dentists 46
• Diabetes 35
• Disparity in Health Status 29
• Drug Deaths 10
• Excessive Drinking 17
• Frequent Mental Distress 24
• Frequent Physical Distress 27
• Fruits 24
• Heart Attack 30
• Heart Disease 30
• High Blood Pressure 41
• High Cholesterol 25
• High Health Status 36
• High School Graduation 40
• Immunization HPV female 42
• Immunization HPV male 25
• Immunization Meningococcal 15
• Immunization Tdap 13
• Immunizations - Adolescents 21
• Immunizations - Children 11
• Income Disparity 39
• Infant Mortality 43
• Infectious Disease 39
• Injury Deaths 14
• Insufficient Sleep 48
• Lack of Health Insurance 47
• Low Birthweight 47
• Median Household Income 38
• Obesity 31
• Occupational Fatalities 20
• Personal Income, Per Capita 40
• Pertussis 10
• Physical Inactivity 36
• Policy 40
• Poor Mental Health Days 25
• Poor Physical Health Days 25
• Premature Death 37
• Preventable Hospitalizations 32
• Primary Care Physicians 41
• Public Health Funding 36
• Salmonella 43
• Seat Belt Use 14
• Smoking 27
• Stroke 41
• Suicide 13
• Underemployment Rate 35
• Unemployment Rate, Annual 36
• Vegetables 23
• Violent Crime 27
• Water Fluoridation 6

National Cause for Concern

Noting health gains in other categories, report authors are concerned about rising rates in some key areas.

For the first time, the report found the cardiovascular death rate has increased in the past year, from 250.8 to 251.7 deaths per 100,000. Drug deaths increased by 4 percent in the past year, and the premature death rate increased for the second year in a row.

Since the rankings were first released in 1990, the prevalence of obesity among adults has increased by 157 percent, according to report authors.

“We have made important strides across the country against public health challenges; however, we are at a crossroads between a healthier future as a nation and a future in which troubling public health measurements become increasingly common,” said Dr. Reed Tuckson, external senior medical adviser to United Health Foundation. “This data provides a roadmap for states, local communities and the public health sector to work together to get ahead of the challenges coming.”

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