New data released in the United Health Foundation’s 20th annual America’s Health Rankings rate the Beehive State second only to Vermont in a broad measure of health and overall physical well-being. Utah ranked fifth last year, so the newest rating is a significant boost, health officials said.

The yearly report credited Utah with the lowest rates in the nation for smoking, cancer deaths, infant mortality and binge drinking, but found the availability of primary care physicians here limited compared with other areas.

It also noted a high “geographic disparity” regarding access to health services for those in remote rural areas, and cited a low rate of funding for public health as significant health challenges.

Utah’s ranking was a pleasant surprise to health officials, who often deal with both the results of poor health choices and a relatively large gap in funding for public health programs.

Utah’s spending was $60 per person for public health last year, compared with a national average of $94 per person and $150 per person in Vermont.
 Dr. David Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, said he was surprised and pleased by the jump in rank.

“It’s obviously a continuation of a cultural predisposition to healthy behaviors, and I’m grateful to have people living here who care about their health,” he said.

The report praised Utah for its efforts in preventing infant mortality, noting the state’s rate has dropped by 45 percent over the 20 years the health rankings report has been published. It also noted the decreasing rate of uninsured residents.

Utah has consistently ranked among the top 10 healthiest states in the 20 years the report has been published.

Some of the highlights of the report are listed below:

Strengths:
Utah ranks among the top ten states on 12 of the 22 measures. Strengths include a low prevalence of smoking at 9.3 percent of the population, a low prevalence of binge drinking at 9.0 percent of the population, a low prevalence of obesity at 23.1 percent of the population, a low percentage of children in poverty at 8.8 percent of persons under age 18, a low infant mortality rate at 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births and a low rate of cancer deaths at 144.7 deaths per 100,000 population.

Challenges:
Challenges include limited availability of primary care physicians with 87.9 primary care physicians per 100,000 population, high geographic disparity within the state at 16.0 percent and low public health funding at $60 per person.

Significant Changes:
 In the past year, the rate of uninsured population decreased from 15.1 percent to 13.0 percent.  In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty declined from 12.6 percent to 8.8 percent of persons under age 18.  In the past ten years, the prevalence of smoking decreased from 14.2 percent to 9.3 percent of the population.  Since 1990, the infant mortality rate declined from 8.7 to 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Health Disparities:
In Utah, smoking is more prevalent among Hispanics at 15.2 percent than non-Hispanic whites at 9.4 percent. Mortality rates vary considerably by race and ethnicity in Utah, with 552.1 deaths per 100,000 population among Hispanics compared to whites, who experience 742.5 deaths per 100,000 population.