For Immediate Release
April 13, 2004

Contact: Tricia Arcelona
(714) 834-2178

State Ranks Orange County’s Health Status

(Santa Ana) - The annual report card on the health of Californians shows Orange County residents are making progress in several areas including key indicators of infant health.

“We’re encouraged that more women are breastfeeding their babies, seeking timely pre-natal care and that fewer adolescents are having babies,” said Mark B. Horton, M.D., Orange County’s Health Officer. “However, the report also shows that there’s still room for Orange County residents to reduce their risk of several major diseases like cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The report, based on information from 2000-2002 shows that Orange County has already achieved the Healthy People 2010 objectives for breastfeeding initiation and for reducing death rates due to motor vehicle accidents and homicide. While overall progress is being made, there are still differences in health status among population groups in Orange County. “We need to focus our efforts and resources on reducing these known disparities, like infant mortality rates among African-Americans and TB in the Vietnamese community,” Dr. Horton said.

Diseases in Orange County from cancers, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases remain higher than the statewide average. “These are diseases in which lifestyle factors like tobacco use, alcohol consumption, diet and exercise make a difference,” said Dr. Horton. “By leading healthier lifestyles, we should be able to reduce our death rates from these diseases.”

The 2004 County Health Status Profiles are produced by the California Department of Health Services and the California Conference of Local Health Officers. The full report is available on-line at www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/phweek/cprofile2004/profile2004.pdf.

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