Strengths:

• High rate of high school graduation
• Ready access to early prenatal care

 

Challenges:

• High incidence of infectious disease
• High prevalence of smoking
• High preventable hospitalizations
• Low immunization coverage

 

Highlights:

• The rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease has decreased by 21 percent in the last ten years, from 381.1 to 301.9 deaths per 100,000 population.
• In the past five years, obesity increased from 26.9 percent to 31.4 percent of the adult population. There are now 1.9 million obese adults in the state.
• In the past ten years, smoking decreased from 27.2 percent to 21.1 percent of the adult population; however, there are still 1.3 million adults in Missouri who smoke.
• In the past year, diabetes increased from 7.9 percent to 9.4 percent of the adult population, with 565,000 diabetic adults in the state.
• In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 23.8 percent to 20.5 percent of persons under age 18. Children in poverty was 10.6 percent in 2001.

 

Disparities:

• In Missouri, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 38.2 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 29.5 percent and Hispanics at 29.0 percent. Diabetes also varies by race and ethnicity in the state; 13.2 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have diabetes compared to 8.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 7.0 percent of Hispanics.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.dhss.mo.gov