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Researchers estimate that the direct healthcare cost of obesity for the state of Delaware is $222 million. If current obesity levels are maintained, in 10 years Delaware could save $561 million off a projected $4,566 million healthcare bill. That’s $785 for every adult in the state.
 
 
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Delaware (2009)
 
America’s Health Rankings™
Ranking:
Delaware is 32nd this year; it was 33rd in 2008.

Strengths:
Strengths include a low percentage of children in poverty at 13.6 percent of persons under age 18, a low rate of uninsured population at 11.0 percent and few poor mental health days per month at 3.0 days in the previous 30 days.

Challenges:
Challenges include a high prevalence of binge drinking at 18.3 percent of the population, a high violent crime rate at 703 offenses per 100,000 population, a high incidence of infectious disease at 23.6 cases per 100,000 population, high levels of air pollution at 13.9 micrograms of fine particulate per cubic meter, a high infant mortality rate at 8.6 deaths per 1,000 live births and a high rate of cancer deaths at 208.6 deaths per 100,000 population.

Significant Changes:
In the past year, the rate of preventable hospitalizations decreased from 72.1 to 66.6 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. In the past five years, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease decreased from 328.8 to 291.2 deaths per 100,000 population. In the past ten years, immunization coverage increased from 54.7 percent to 73.0 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations. Since 1990, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 31.8 percent to 17.7 percent of the population.

Health Disparities:
In Delaware, obesity is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks at 40.2 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 25.5 percent and Hispanics at 28.2 percent. The prevalence of diabetes also varies by race and ethnicity in the state; 10.7 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have diabetes compared to 4.6 percent of Hispanics and 8.2 percent of non-Hispanic whites. In addition, mortality rates vary considerably in Delaware, with 995.1 deaths per 100,000 population among blacks compared to Hispanics, who experience 582.1 deaths per 100,000 population.

State Health Department Web Site:        www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss

Download this state summary as a PDF file
Overall Rank : 
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New! Supplemental Measures
America’s Health Rankings™ have been expanded to include 15 more state-specific measures of health, from Daily Vegetable and Fruit intake to Incidence of High Blood Pressure and Diabetes. GO
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Delaware - Core Measures
  2009 1990 No. 1
Behaviors Value Rank Value Rank State
High School Graduation (Percent of incoming ninth graders) 76.3 26 - - 87.5
Prevalence of Obesity (Percent of population) 27.7 31 14.4 47 19.1
Prevalence of Smoking (Percent of population) 17.7 21 31.8 39 9.3
Prevalence of Binge Drinking (Percent of population) 18.3 45 - - 9.0
Community & Environment          
Occupational Fatalities (Deaths per 100,000 workers) 4.3 15 8.6 18 3.1
Infectious Disease (Cases per 100,000 population) 23.6 45 48.9 42 2.4
Air Pollution (Micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter) 13.9 47 - - 4.8
Children in Poverty (Percent of persons under age 18) 13.6 10 8.6 1 8.6
Violent Crime (Offenses per 100,000 population) 703 47 432 27 117
Public & Health Policies          
Lack of Health Insurance (Percent of population) 11.0 12 - - 5.4
Immunization Coverage (Percent of children ages 19 to 35 months) 73.0 41 - - 85.0
Public Health Funding (Dollars per person) $94 15 $- - $220
Clinical Care          
Prenatal Care (Percent of pregnant women) 68.4 23 - - 86.1
Preventable Hospitalizations (Number per 1,000 Medicare enrollees) 66.6 20 - - 29.3
Primary Care Physicians (Number per 100,000 population) 111.6 29 - - 190.0
Health Outcomes          
Premature Death (Years lost per 100,000 population) 8037 35 8916 33 5595
Poor Physical Health Days (Days in the previous 30 days) 3.4 21 - - 2.7
Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 live births) 8.6 45 11.6 41 4.8
Poor Mental Health Days (Days in the previous 30 days) 3.0 9 - - 2.2
Geographic Disparity (Relative standard deviation) 4.3 1 - - 4.3
Cancer Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population) 208.6 41 222.1 50 144.7
Cardiovascular Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population) 291.2 30 422.4 33 212.6
 
Summation          
All Determinants -0.102 32 -0.002 31 0.827
All Outcomes 0.020 32 -0.321 44 0.348
Overall -0.082 32 -0.323 38 1.064

Delaware - Supplemental Measures
  2009 1990 No. 1
Behaviors Value Rank Value Rank State
Cholesterol Check (Percent of adult population) 80.6 7 - - 84.6
Recent Dental Visit (Percent of adult population) 76.8 4 - - 80.2
Daily Vegetables and Fruit (Percent of population) 21.4 36 - - 30.0
Physical Activity (Percent of adult population) 75.8 22 - - 81.9
Chronic Disease          
Stroke (Percent of adult population) 2.8 34 - - 1.8
High Cholesterol (Percent of adult population) 38.3 31 - - 32.4
High Blood Pressure (Percent of adult population) 29.3 39 - - 19.7
Heart Attack (Percent of adult population) 4.4 31 - - 2.9
Cardiac Heart Disease (Percent of adult population) 4.7 35 - - 2.7
Diabetes (Percent of adult population) 8.2 24 - - 5.9
Economic          
Per Capita Personal Income (Dollars per person) $40852 16 $20743 7 $56248
Underemployment Rate (Percent) 9.0 16 - - 5.7
Annual Unemployment Rate (Percent) 4.8 18 3.1 3 3.0
Median Household Income (Dollars per household) $50702 24 $53764 10 $66176
August 2009 Unemployment Rate (Percent) 8.1 21 3.3 3 4.3
Health Outcomes          
Health Status (Percent report fair or poor health) 13.1 14 - - 10.7


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