State report finds Lucas County residents unhealthier than neighbors

2/17/2010
BLADE STAFF

People living in Lucas County are considerably more likely to be unhealthy than those residing in neighboring counties, according to a newly released report.

The report titled "2010 County Health Rankings," puts Lucas County among Ohio's 20 least healthy counties. Lucas County ranked 71st out of 88 counties altogether.

In comparison, Wood County ranked among the healthiest counties at number nine. Fulton and Ottawa counties also ranked within the healthier range at 21 and 18 respectively.

People in Monroe County ranked about average in health for Michigan at 49 out of 82 counties studied in the report. Lenawee fared better than most other counties in Michigan, ranked at number 15.

The report was conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Researchers considered a wide range of factors including mortality rates, unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and drinking, and access to health care and education levels, among other things.