Desoto, Quitman Counties at Top, Bottom of State’s Health List

Desoto County ranks healthiest in Mississippi and Quitman County is the least healthy county in the state, according to the sixth annual County Health Rankings, released this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). The Rankings are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org.

“The County Health Rankings provide a great deal of insight into the important areas of focus for the American Heart Association,” said Dr. Harper Stone, cardiologist at the Jackson Heart Clinic in Jackson, Mississippi and President of the American Heart Association Greater Southeast Affiliate Board of Directors. “Although we’ve made tremendous progress in improving the cardiovascular health of individuals, particularly through groundbreaking research, we must continue to focus on educating individuals on the importance of lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and dietary changes in order to impact the overall health of our communities.”

The Rankings are an easy-to-use snapshot comparing the health of nearly every county in the nation. The local-level data allows each state to see how its counties compare on 30 factors that influence health including education, housing, violent crime, jobs, diet, and exercise.

According to the 2015 Rankings, the five healthiest counties in Mississippi starting with most healthy, are Desoto followed by Lafayette, Lamar, Rankin and Madison. The five counties in the poorest health, starting with least healthy, are Quitman, Coahoma, Jefferson, Marion and Tallahatchie.

“The County Health Rankings have helped galvanize communities across the nation to improve health,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, RWJF president and CEO. “Solutions and innovation are coming from places as diverse as rural Williamson, West Virginia in the heart of Appalachia to urban New Orleans; they are engaging business, public health, education, parents, and young people to build a Culture of Health.”

Nationally, this year’s Rankings show that the healthiest counties in each state have higher college attendance, fewer preventable hospital stays, and better access to parks and gyms. The least healthy counties in each state have more smokers, more teen births, and more alcohol related car crash deaths. This report also looks at distribution in income and the links between income levels and health.

The Rankings also revealed the following national trends:

Premature death rates are dropping, with 60 percent of the nation’s counties seeing declines. But for many counties these rates are not improving – 40 percent of counties are not making progress in reducing premature death.

One out of four children in the U.S. lives in poverty. Child poverty rates are more than twice as high in the unhealthiest counties in each state than in the healthiest counties.

Violent crime rates are highest in the South. Violent crime rates, which affect health, well-being, and stress levels, are highest in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mississippi Delta Regions.

Having a job influences health. Unemployment rates are 1.5 times higher in the least healthy counties in each state as they are in the healthiest counties. During the recession, counties in the West, Southeast, and rust belt region of the U.S. were hit hardest by growing unemployment. Many, but not at all, of these counties have seen their unemployment rates drop since the recession ended in 2010.

“In the six years since the County Health Rankings began, we’ve seen them serve as a rallying point for change,” said Bridget Catlin, PhD, MHSA, co-director of the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. “Communities are using the Rankings to inform their priorities as they work to build a Culture of Health.”

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program offers data, tools, and resources to help communities throughout their journey to build a Culture of Health. Also part of the program is the RWJF Culture of Health Prize which honors communities that are working together to build a healthier, more vibrant community.