Strengths:

• Low prevalence of binge drinking
• Moderate rate of preventable hospitalizations

 

Challenges:

• High percentage of children in poverty
• High prevalence of diabetes
• High prevalence of low birthweight
• Low high school graduation rate

 

Highlights:

• In the past five years, children in poverty increased from 15.6 percent to 26.3 percent of persons under age 18.
• In the past ten years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 78.6 to 61.2 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past year, high school graduation increased from 62.2 percent to 66.0 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduated within four years.
• South Carolina has one of the highest rates of diabetes at 12.1 percent of the adult population, with 435,000 adults with diabetes.
• South Carolina ranks below the median state on all measures except two; binge drinking and preventable hospitalizations.

 

Disparities:

• In South Carolina, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 39.9 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 27.8 percent; and sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among Hispanics at 35.6 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 24.9 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.scdhec.net