Strengths:

• High per capita public health funding
• Low levels of air pollution
• Low prevalence of diabetes

 

Challenges:

• High prevalence of binge drinking
• High violent crime rate
• High incidence of infectious disease

 

Highlights:

• In the past five years, smoking decreased from 24.9 percent to 20.4 percent of the population. However, 145,000 adults still smoke.
• In the past ten years, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 10.6 percent to 15.6 percent of persons under age 18.
• In the past year, binge drinking increased from 16.9 percent to 19.1 percent of the population.
• 179,000 adults (25.2 percent of adults) in Alaska are obese, 47,000 more than 10 years ago.
• Alaska ranks lower for determinants than for outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may decline over time.

 

Disparities:

• In Alaska, smoking is more prevalent among non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaskan Natives at 37.6 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 17.6 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: http://health.hss.state.ak.us