Strengths:

• Low percentage of children in poverty
• Low prevalence of smoking
• Ready availability of primary care physicians

 

Challenges:

• High levels of air pollution
• High prevalence of low birthweight & high infant mortality rate
• High violent crime rate

 

Highlights:

• In the past ten years, the rate of cardiovascular deaths decreased from 334.4 to 278.5 deaths per 100,000 population.
• In the past ten years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 78.3 to 62.7 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 13.6 percent to 11.3 percent of persons under age 18.
• Maryland ranks higher for determinants than for outcomes, indicating that overall healthiness may improve over time.
• More than 1.2 million adults are obese and almost 1.2 million adults live a sedentary lifestyle.
• While Maryland had one of the lowest smoking rates in the U.S., more than 850,000 adults smoke.

 

Disparities:

• In Maryland, smoking is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 17.1 percent than Hispanics at 10.4 percent; obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 36.7 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 24.4 percent; and sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 29.1 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 20.7 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.dhmh.maryland.gov