Lucas ranks 71 out of 88 Ohio counties in health

High poverty rates, unhealthy activities such as binge drinking and smoking, low education levels, and poor air quality are among factors making Lucas County one of the least healthy places to live in Ohio, according to a report released yesterday.

The study, titled “2010 County Health Rankings,” ranks Lucas County as 71st out of 88 counties in the state when it comes to the health of its population and environment.

In comparison, Wood County ranked among the healthiest counties at 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. Lenawee fared better than most other Michigan counties, ranked 15. Hillsdale County was 29.

The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation conducted the report. Researchers considered a wide range of factors including mortality rates, tobacco use, binge drinking, access to health care, teen pregnancy, rates of high school graduation, number of children in poverty, pollution levels, rates of violent crime, and access to healthy foods.

An overview of Lucas County health indicators in the report points to particularly high levels of child poverty, teen pregnancies, and low education levels compared with averages for the state. Unhealthy behaviors such as binge drinking and tobacco use in Lucas County are above the state average.

Toledo-Lucas County Health Commissioner David Grossman said he was disappointed with the data.

“I found them disturbing,” Dr. Grossman said. “I knew we had troubles, but this shows just how deep they are.”

One figure Dr. Grossman deemed encouraging was Lucas County's relatively high level of access to health care. A separate ranking in the report put Lucas County at 7 in the state when it comes to clinical care.

The percentage of uninsured adults, 11 percent, also was less than Wood County, where 14 percent of adults are uninsured.

Dr. Grossman said the findings point to the crucial role behavior plays in determining people's health. He said although the county has good health-care facilities, it needs to step up efforts to educate people about the dangers of activities such as binge drinking, smoking, and unprotected sex.

“A lot of it is individual decisions about how you want to live your life,” Dr. Grossman said, adding that poverty rates are another likely reason for the disparities.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported in October that Toledo was the nation's eighth-poorest city in 2008, with 24.7 percent of residents living below the poverty line.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines the poverty line as having income of $22,050 a year or less for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states, or $10,830 for a single person.

According to Census Bureau statistics from 2007, 16.9 percent of the population in Lucas County lives below the poverty line, compared to the state average of 13.1 percent.

In comparison, the 2007 data showed that 10.8 percent of Wood County residents live below the poverty line.

Wood County Health Commissioner Pamela Butler echoed Dr. Grossman's assessment that poverty plays a role in public health.

She said Wood County may have fared better in the report than Lucas County in part because of lower poverty rates and because it has a smaller population that is less concentrated in urban areas.

In addition, she said, greater industry in the Toledo area could lead to more environmental pollution.

In fact, both Lucas and Wood counties ranked among the worst in Ohio for having healthy environments, at 84 and 72, respectively.

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio, a nonpartisan health research and education center, is organizing four workshops across the state to discuss the report's findings next month.

The northwest Ohio meeting will be March 10 at Bowling Green State University.

Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett at: cbarrett@theblade.com or 419-724-6272.