30 years of U.S. health successes, challenges tracked in new insurer report

In the last 30 years, smoking among U.S. adults has decreased 45 percent, but obesity has increased 166 percent, according to a report by United Health Foundation, part of insurer UnitedHealth Group.

The foundation recently released the 30th edition of its America's Health Rankings Annual Report, which offers state-by-health analysis of health measures in the U.S. The report's findings are based on several data sources, including the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey and Current Population Survey.

The report outlines national successes as well as challenges related to population health in the nation since 1990.

Successes:

1. Smoking among U.S. adults has decreased by 45 percent since 1990.

2. Infant mortality has dropped by 43 percent, from 10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019.

3. Violent crime has reduced by 50 percent since 1993.

4. Air pollution decreased by 36 percent since 2003.

5. The number of children living in poverty has dropped by 20 percent since 2013.

6. Mental health providers have increased by 13 percent since 2017, from 218 providers per 100,000 people to 247.4 per 100,000 people in 2019.

Challenges:

1. Obesity among U.S. adults saw a 166 percent increase from 11.6 percent in 1990 to 30.9 percent in 2019.

2. Diabetes spiked by 148 percent among U.S. adults since 1996, from 4.4 percent to 10.9 percent now.

3. Rates of low birth weight among infants has risen by 19 percent since 1993.

4. National suicide rates increased by 4 percent since 2018.

5. Drug deaths have spiked by 37 percent since 2016, from 14 deaths per 100,000 to 19.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2019.

6. Chlamydia cases have increased by 5 percent since 2018.

The report also notes two trend reversals:

1. Premature deaths have increased by 7 percent since 2014, after a 20 percent decrease between 1990 and 2014.

2. Cardiovascular deaths have increased by 4 percent since 2015, after decreasing by 37 percent between 1990 and 2015.

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