Health Trends in Reno, Nevada

BY: STEPHANIE ROVETTI

I was able to talk to John Harris, a Reno health official.  I asked him what were the most concerning health trends and issues in Nevada, particularly Reno.  These were his responses:

1.     Suicide rates

One of the biggest issues brought up was the suicide rates.  Nevada has one of the highest rates in the United States.  This was said to be largely due to poor mental health due to a higher than average rate of addictive behaviors (mainly gambling) because of the legality of casinos and night-lifestyle.  There is also a high rate of gun ownership in Reno, which is the most common method.  There are prevention efforts being made in Nevada to address this rising issue and they are having success.

2.     Childhood Obesity

As one of the most pressing issues in the US right now, obesity is also trending in Nevada.  About 14% of children are obese.  There have been ‘mini grants’ made to establish a positive promotion of good health and the importance of physical activity, healthy eating, and the ‘Nevada Wellness Policy’(a statewide policy).  There have been 16 mini grants across Nevada Schools.  Schools are the main focus of these prevention efforts because, aside from at home, is where children learn behaviors and habits for their lives.  There are also other efforts in place such as the Obesity Prevention  Foundation.

3.     Influenza/Pneumonia

Nevada, particularly Reno, has a slightly higher average of influenza/pneumonia cases than the national average.  Washoe County residence experience a higher rate of death due to influenza and pneumonia when compared to Nevada as a whole.  Treatment is not the focus of Public Health officials.  The focus is prevention, specifically getting flu shots every year, but also along with that, is education.  Flu shots in the elderly in Reno is very poor.  They are at a higher risk of influenza and yet, only about 10% get the shots every year.  This is something that they are working to improve. 

4.     Alcohol and Tobacco use

Smoking in Nevada is another category that is above the national average.  It is slightly higher in the Las Vegas area but is still above average in northern Nevada.  This has come up as an issue in the last couple of years and efforts have been made for smoking cessation.  From 1997 to now, the percentage of smokers has down about 12%.  Its large prevalence in Nevada has to do with, again, the “casino lifestyle”.  It is something that our efforts are still pursuing along with the problem of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.

5.     Food Borne Illnesses

There are many cases of food borne illnesses in the United States.  There has been a recent Peanut Butter Salmonella outbreak.  About one in 6 Americans suffer from one in a year.  There was a reported 65,000 cases in Washoe County last year.  Restaurants have a monitoring system so it is important to monitor people at home on the proper food safety.  For Reno, this is an important issue because we rely a lot on tourism and large outbreaks can discourage this and negatively impact many businesses, both directly and indirectly, and therefore hurt our economy.