Strengths:

• Low geographic disparity within the state
• Moderate prevalence of sedentary lifestyle
• Ready availability of primary care physicians

 

Challenges:

• High incidence of infectious disease
• High levels of air pollution
• High prevalence of binge drinking

 

Highlights:

• In the past five years, air pollution decreased from 14.5 to 11.7 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter.
• In the past five years, the percentage of children in poverty increased from 14.9 percent to 19.6 percent of persons under age 18.
• In the past five years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 89.4 to 75.0 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past ten years, the infant mortality rate decreased from 8.5 to 7.0 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• In the past year, the number of infectious disease cases rose from 11.1 to 13.7 cases per 100,000 population.
• Almost 2.7 million adults in Illinois are obese, and almost 2.5 million adults lead a sedentary lifestyle in the state.

 

Disparities:

• In Illinois, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 41.0 percent than Hispanics at 31.1 percent and non-Hispanic whites at 26.0 percent; smoking is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 22.2 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 17.0 percent; and sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 29.5 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 23.3 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.idph.state.il.us