ATLANTA — The fourth annual Healthy Georgia report from the Augusta University School of Public Health came out and shows how Georgia residents are doing compared to the other states in the region.
The 64-page report compares Georgia to the 11 other states that make up the Southeastern Region: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
The report also focuses on 31 health topics and compares Georgia to the overall U.S.
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An executive summary of the report said that “Compared to the US national average, Georgia has higher prevalence rates of HIV, STIs, firearm-related suicide, childhood asthma, ACEs, and obesity. On the contrary, rates of methamphetamine use, flu vaccination, cancer, breastfeeding, and adult health insurance coverage were lower among Georgians. In general, rates of poor mental health, high cholesterol, opioid use, COPD, multimorbidity, nutritious meal access among children, and child health insurance coverage were comparable to respective national averages.”
Additionally, when compared to just the southeast, Georgians were shown to have “higher prevalence rates of HIV and STIs, and lower rates of skin cancer, CVD, COPD, cancer, and methamphetamine use. Rates of obesity, asthma, Long COVID, and child health insurance coverage among Georgians were comparable to the Southeastern regional averages.”
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According to the report, a lot of Georgians have hypertension, 44.1% of rural Georgia adults and 35% in urban areas. Overall the state is ranked 18th for the highest rate of hypertension in the United States.
Across the state, more than 17% of Georgians have diabetes in rural areas while 12.3% do in urban areas.
The report notes that hypertension and diabetes are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and that between urban areas and rural areas, residents in Georgia face a “striking difference” when it comes to chronic conditions.
“Hypertension and diabetes are the major risk factors for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide, so these are some concerning numbers to see,” Biplab Datta, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Health Management, Economics, and Policy in SPH, said.
Compared to the rest of the U.S., fewer Georgians are getting cancer or using methamphetamine, but there are higher rates of childhood asthma and adult obesity.
The report says that Georgians have the 23rd highest rate of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. However, the level of CVD in Georgia is much lower than the U.S. average, according to the same data.
Nationally, Georgia has the 12th highest rate of diabetes in the country and is the fourth highest among southeastern states.
When it comes to sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, Georgia ranks high, and not in a positive way.
For rates of HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, Georgia has the second highest rate in the entire country. Georgia is also ranked as having the sixth-highest rate of chlamydia, the fourth-highest rate of gonorrhea and 13th highest rate of syphilis in the U.S.
The state also has the second lowest rate of adults who have health insurance among all 50 states, according to the report from Augusta University. Georgia is also ranked 13th for children with health insurance.
In terms of preventive care, Georgia has the ninth lowest rate of flu vaccination in the country and ranks 15th for children with health needs not being met, meaning many children in Georgia do not have their health needs covered.
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