Strengths:

• Low prevalence of smoking
• Low rate of cancer deaths

 

Challenges:

• High incidence of infectious disease
• High percentage of children in poverty
• High prevalence of sedentary lifestyle & obesity
• High rate of uninsured population

 

Highlights:

• In the past five years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased 18 percent from 87.6 to 72.3 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees.
• In the past ten years, the rate of low birthweight increased from 7.4 percent to 8.4 percent of live births.
• The incidence of infectious disease remains high, rising 4 percent in the last year from 18.4 to 19.1 cases per 100,000 population.
• The rate of cancer deaths decreased 5 percent in the past year, from 182.8 to 173.8 deaths per 100,000 population, leaving Texas with one of the lowest rates of cancer deaths in the U.S.
• Almost 5.7 million adults, more than 30 percent, in Texas are obese and more than 5 million adults, more than 27 percent, live a sedentary lifestyle.
• Although Texas has the highest rate of uninsured population, the rate decreased from 25.0 percent to 24.2 percent in the last year.

 

Disparities:

• In Texas, sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among Hispanics at 33.7 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 23.1 percent; and obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 38.4 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 26.9 percent.

 

State Health Department Web Site: www.dshs.state.tx.us