Virginia fares better than Tennessee in latest U.S. health rankings

Virginia ranked 19th overall in U.S. health rankings while Tennessee placed 44th, according to the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings 2023 Annual Report released earlier this month.

The annual rankings, released in partnership with the American Public Health Association, examine 87 measures of health from 28 distinct data sources to present a comprehensive overview of the health and well-being of the nation, according to the executive summary.

The report ranks the five healthiest states as New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Minnesota. The least healthiest states, according to the report, are Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Virginia ranked first in the U.S. for physical environment, including air and water quality measures, climate and health, housing and transit – although individual rankings ranged from first to 38th, according to the state summary. As a state, Virginia ranked 16 in social and economic factors, 22nd in clinical care, 26th in behaviors and 25th in health outcomes.

The report identifies Virginia’s strengths as a low economic hardship index score, low household food insecurity and low levels of air pollution. Its challenges are defined as a high prevalence of multiple chronic conditions, low per capita public health funding and a high prevalence of high-risk HIV behaviors.

Additionally, the number of Virginia adults diagnosed with depression rose from 17.2% to 21.8% of adults between 2020 and 2022, according to the report.

Tennessee ranked 41st in social and economic factors, 19th in physical environment, 41st in clinical care, 46th in behaviors and 47th in health outcomes.

It notes Tennessee’s primary strengths are a low prevalence of excessive drinking, low income inequality and a low percentage of households experiencing severe housing problems. Its challenges are a high prevalence of frequent mental distress, high prevalence of multiple chronic conditions and a high prevalence of cigarette smoking.

Tennessee reported a 79% rise in the number of drug deaths, rising from from 30.6 to 54.7 deaths per 100,000 population between 2019 and 2021, according to the report.

About 18.5% of adult Tennesseans smoke, which ranks 48th nationally. The U.S. average is 14%. Virginia ranks 16th nationally in that category with 12.1% of its population using tobacco.

The report reveals that in 2022, the rates of eight chronic conditions all reached their highest levels since America’s Health Rankings began tracking them. Those include arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and diabetes. In 2022 more than 29 million adults reported having three or more chronic conditions.

“Notably, between 2021 and 2022, depression prevalence surged to 21.7% [nationally], affecting nearly 54.2 million adults. Diabetes prevalence also increased to 11.5%, impacting nearly 31.9 million adults, while asthma prevalence rose to 10.4%, affecting nearly 26 million adults,” according to the report. “Additionally, 8.3% of adults reported ever having been diagnosed with cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), with nearly 21.4 million affected in 2022.”

Virginia ranked 33rd nationally for residents with multiple chronic conditions – 12% — and 30th for obesity, with 35% of residents classified as obese.

Tennessee was lower, ranking 48th, for residents with multiple chronic conditions – nearly 17% — and 46th for obesity, with nearly 39% of its residents classified as obese.

Nationally, one in three people are obese, an increase from 11% in 1990 when the rankings began.

The report also measures economic hardship by county and its impacts on health and wellness. Once again, Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell and Wise counties ranked in the lowest percentile in Virginia, along with Johnson County, Tennessee.

dmcgee@bristolnews.com — Twitter: @DMcGeeBHC