Distinctly Montana Magazine

MONTANA HEALTH REPORT BY RACHEL ROCKAFELLOW, RN MONTANA'S OVERALL HEALTH RANKING** I ndividual health de- pends on many factors, but how does where we live influence our level of health? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnering with the Univer- sity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute can now tell us just that (www.ameri- cashealthrankings.org/MT). They take it further by mea- suring how healthy people are all around the United States county by county. Looking at our entire state the United Health Founda- tion ranks Montana 25th, putting us in the middle of the pack, while we ranked 12th in 1990. The health factors Mon- tanans have in our favor include a lower prevalence of obesity than most other MONTANA'S BEST HEALTH RANKINGS # # 25 50 7 th OUT OF MONTANA'S WORST HEALTH RANKINGS FOR 6 9 # # # 46 50 Montana can also boast lower levels of air pollution than most other states. Anyone suffering with FOR OCCUPATIONAL FATALITIES 46 states, although still much higher than previously. The complete 2011 report reveals 23.5 percent of Montanans are now obese (180,000 adults) versus only 15.9 percent a mere ten years ago. The rate of obesity for non-whites is consid- erably higher. With increases in obesity come increases in health complications, one of which is diabetes. Currently Montana still has fewer diabetics than most states at 7 percent of our population. Since obesity is a contributing factor in the development of diabetes, our increasing obe- sity rate may cause this percentage to increase in the future. FOR IMMUNIZATION (CHILDREN 19-35 MONTHS) **Information obtained from the United Health Foundation. More detail available at http://www.americashealthrankings.org/ ANNUAL DENTAL VISITS FOR # OBESITY FOR AIR POLLUTION states FOR DIABETES respiratory challenges really appreciates our clean air, which can make all the difference in quality of life and be an influencing factor for retirees looking for clean air and a healthy environment. One challenge Montana faces is a lower immunization rate than most states at only 83.3 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months being immunized against common childhood diseas- es. This places our most vulnerable children at increased risk, especially considering that "herd immunity" may no longer provide the protection previ- ously available. (Herd immunity occurs when people benefit from a lower likeli- hood of contracting a disease because others around them are immunized.) The number of smokers in the state has remained the same for the last 10 years at 18.8 percent of adults (144,000 people). So many preventable illnesses and death are related to smoking that work continues in the public health arena to decrease this number. With many of Montana's employment opportunities in ex- tractive industries or agriculture, we have a high rate of occupa- tional fatalities although lower than at the turn of the century. Predictably, there is high geographic disparity within the "Childhood immunizations are important to prevent life-threatening diseases. At Billings Clinic, we are streamlining immunization reporting and improving our ability to send reminders to busy parents." Dr. Michelle S. Pierson, Department Chair of Pediatrics at Billings Clinic 46 DISTINCTLY MONTANA • WINTER 2013 state. Around Montana the Bozeman area of Gallatin county ranks first in health compared to Missoula (4th), Billings (Yel- lowstone county, 14th), Helena (Lewis & Clark, 20th), Great Falls (Cascade county, 21st), and Butte (Silver Bow, 39th). Rankings by county were made by looking at the programs and policies in place that support health (for example, trail systems encourage exercise, smoking bans discourage tobacco use, etc.). Then they looked at health factors and ultimately health outcomes.

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