How healthy is living in Mississippi?
Mississippi climbed out of last place in the United Health Foundation's annual ranking of the healthiest states. In 2007, the state was ranked #49. The state is definitely not "out of the woods," though, with some of the worst ratings in 15 of 22 categories of measurement, including the worst rating in three of those categories.
The good news:
- Mississippi earned a #4 ranking in the category measuring the prevalence of binge drinking. Just 10.3 percent of the state's population reported having drunken excessively in a designated 30-day period, compared to the national average of 15.6 percent.
- The prevalence of smoking declined by 5 percent and the incidence of infectious disease decreased by 17 percent in the past year.
- Since 1990, the state's infant mortality rate has fallen by 22 percent.
The bad news:
- The state was ranked dead last for its high incidence of cardiovascular death and for its prevalence of obesity. The prevalence of obesity has increased by 117 percent since 1990.
- For the second straight year, Mississippi had the lowest ranking of 50 states when it came to the percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty.
- The percentage of Mississippi students graduating from high school after four years continued to fall in 2008 – marking the third year of decline in that category.
The state's best and worst category rankings:
- Prevalence of binge drinking – 4th
- Poor physical health days – 44th
- Prevalence of smoking – 44th
- Occupational fatalities – 46th
- Lack of health insurance – 46th
- Cancer deaths – 46th
- High school graduation – 47th (63.3 percent of ninth graders eventually graduate)
- Preventable hospitalizations – 47th
- Number of primary care physicians – 48th
- Infectious disease – 48th
- Poor mental health days – 49th
- Premature death – 49th
- Infant mortality – 49th
- Cardiovascular deaths – 50th
- Prevalence of obesity – 50th
- Children (under 18) in poverty – 50th