Texas Health Atlas

Chapter 6: Harmful Behaviors, Infectious Diseases, and Injuries

6 Harmful Behaviors, Infectious Diseases, and Injuries OBESITY IS AN EPIDEMIC IN TEXAS, ESpecially among the Hispanic and black populations . The National Institutes of Health (2010) defines obesity as a score of 30 or more on its Body Mass Index. Texas ranked tenth in the nation for the proportion of its population who were obese in 2005–27% (6.2 million people). The mean for the nation was 24.4%. By 2010, 28.8% of Texans (7.3 million) were obese. At the current rate of increase, 31.7% of Texans (9.1 million) will be obese in 2020; and 36.7% (12.2 million), in 2030. The estimated cost of this obesity crisis for Texas in 2010 is more than $15 billion (CDC 2010b; US Census Bureau 2010; Texas Demographer 2009; Lochhead and D’Onofrio 2009). In 2008, about 63,000 people were living with HIV/ AIDS in Texas. Annual increases of cases for the past several years have been hovering near 3,500. The HIV/ AIDS rates for blacks far exceed those of whites and Hispanics (DSHS 2010d). The June 2010 report from the DSHS “Substance Abuse Trends in Texas” (2010d) included this information : • Heroin use by a younger population has increased. • Cocaine indicators have decreased. • Methamphetamine smoking has increased, while injections have decreased. • Marijuana homologs (synthetics) are appearing in the state. • Marijuana use by schoolchildren is declining. • Alcohol is the primary drug of abuse in Texas, and the Panhandle had the highest rate of binge drinking (DSHS 2010d). The rates per 100,000 people for infectious and parasitic diseases in 2008 followed the East and South Texas geographic patterns for poor health and disease. Whites and blacks had peak rates in East Texas, and rates for whites and Hispanics were acute in South Texas. The highest contiguous county rates for injuries and poisonings were in East Texas, and whites had the most substantial rates throughout the state. Whites, mostly in East Texas, had the highest rates and totals for number of people using emergency rooms. The sharpest rates of traffic fatalities were mainly in West Texas (DSHS 2008b). 160 Obesity Projections Total Population 2010 2020 2030 Percent Obese Number of Obese Sources: Office of the Texas State Demographer, 2009; Texas State Data Center, Population Estimates and Projections Program, 2003, 2006. 161 HIV, Drug, and Alcohol Abuse Total Population 2000–2003 2004–2007 Mean Number of Patients Mean Number of Patients per 100,000 Population Sources: Texas Department of State Health Services, 2008b; Texas State Data Center, Population Estimates and Projections Program, 2003, 2006; US Census Bureau, 2000a. Notes: 1. The maps display data from the Patient Age codes 22–26. 2. The mean number of patients for each county was 444.03 per year for 2000–2003 and 559.38 for 2004–2007. 3. Rates per 100,000 were calculated using the mean of the total populations for 2000–2003 and for 2004–2007. 4. The statewide mean for the ratio of patients per 100,000 was 385.79 for 2000–2003 and 457.94 for 2004–2007. 162 HIV, Drug, and Alcohol Abuse White Population 2000–2003 2004–2007 Notes: 1. The maps display data from the Patient Age codes 22–26. 2. The mean number of white patients for each county was 244.61 per year for 2000– 2003 and 297.80 for 2004–2007. 3. Rates per 100,000 were calculated using the mean of the total white populations for 2000–2003 and for 2004–2007. 4. The statewide mean for the ratio of white patients per 100,000 was 390.05 for 2000– 2003 and 492.38 for 2004–2007. Sources: Texas Department of State Health Services, 2008b; Texas State Data Center, Population Estimates and Projections Program, 2003, 2006; US Census Bureau, 2000a. Mean Number of Patients Mean Number of Patients per 100,000 Population 163 HIV, Drug, and Alcohol Abuse Hispanic Population 2000–2003 2004–2007 Mean Number of Patients Mean Number of Patients per 100,000 Population Notes: 1. The maps display data from the Patient Age codes 22–26. 2. The mean number of Hispanic patients for each county was 98.56 per year for 2000–2003 and 119.94 for 2004–2007. 3. Rates per 100,000 were calculated using the mean of the total Hispanic populations for 2000–2003 and for 2004–2007. 4. The statewide mean for the ratio of Hispanic patients...