The Rankings

District of Columbia

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Strengths:

• Low prevalence of smoking
• Lower prevalence of obesity than most states
• Low rate of uninsured population

Challenges:

• High violent crime rate
• High percentage of children in poverty
• High incidence of infectious disease

Ranking:

The District of Columbia is not included in the ranking of states, as it is a unique governmental entity and is considerably more urban than the states.

Highlights:

• In the past year, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 55.3 to 52.8 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past year, diabetes increased from 7.5 percent to 10.9 percent of adults. Now 55,000 District of Columbia adults have diabetes.
• In the past year, the rate of uninsured population increased from 11.2 percent to 12.4 percent.
• While smoking decreased from 20.0 percent to 14.8 percent of adults in the last five years, 74,000 adults still smoke in the District of Columbia.
• Unlike most states, the level of obesity has remained steady over the past ten years, with 114,000 obese adults in the district.

State Health Department Web Site: www.dchealth.dc.gov