Portland, OR health trends

Elizabeth Steele

11/12/2012

I talked to Loreen Nichols, director of Community Health in the Multnomah County, Oregon public health department about the health trends in the Portland area. 

Drug Use

Drugs are all over Portland and surrounding areas.  I was honestly shocked when the legalization of marijuana failed in Oregon this past election.  There is clear evidence of the problem just stepping out into the city of Portland.  It seems you can’t escape it!  I mainly have seen the homeless (there are a lot) smoking or doing other drugs.  This could be a result of the high depression rates of the city.  Marijuana use has constantly been on the rise, and although new laws restricting the sale of cold medicine (ingredient in meth production) have decreased the number of meth labs found, Mexican drug cartels are working to pick up that slack.

Colon and Lung Cancer                 

Overall, colon cancer rates in Oregon have decreased from 2004-2008 in very small increments.  Lung cancer rates have basically remained steady.  In both cases (as with all cancers) the rates ought to be decreasing as we advance medically, but they are not.  Colon cancer may be caused by alcohol use and smoking, obesity and diet, environment, and/or genetics.  Lung cancer is usually caused by smoking tobacco and use of similar drugs.  Drug use is so prevalent in Portland and if we work on getting specifically the drug use rate down, it will in return bring down the rate of these cancers and the following health trends. 

High Blood Pressure/Stroke

High blood pressure can be a result of a poor, fatty diet, lack of exercise, stress (tension, hypertension), and regular tobacco use.  The high rates of drug use and depression in Oregon contribute to the stroke and heart attack rates, as they are caused mainly by high blood pressure.  About 25% of women in Oregon have been told they have high blood pressure.  Although Oregon has one of the lower (they’re all too high) obesity rates, another major contributor to high blood pressure, in the country, we still have high rates due to other factors.  Oregonians can help prevent and minimize their risk for stroke by lowering their blood pressure by: monitoring cholesterol, exercising, quitting smoking, minimizing (preferably eliminating) alcohol use, eating well, and managing their life in a way that they are happy.

Depression

Portland has been constantly ranked as one of the most (if not the most) miserable cities in the United States.  The high homeless rate of Portland highly contributes to this, as does the nature of city work life.   Arguably one of the highest contributors to the depression is the extreme number of cloudy or rainy days in the city – about 60-65% of the year is spent without sun.  Depression often leads people to develop eating disorders which contribute to the nation’s obesity rate.  It can also lead people to develop drug and/or alcohol use.  A large number of the depressed people rely on anti-depressant medications that usually result in two extremes – the people become happier, or even more depressed.

Suicide

In addition to severe depression, Oregon has one of the highest adolescent suicide rates in the country.  Addictions to prescription drugs or other drugs can lead the youth to commit suicide because they see it as an easy escape from their addictions and other problems.  The depression of the area also highly effects teens – many of them are on anti-depressants like Zoloft which commonly has negative side effects, creating suicidal thoughts.  Unfortunately, I had experiences with people in my school and my best friend in both of these situations.  While Portland has its own efforts to combat suicide and depression, each one of us need to become familiar with signs and symptoms of suicidal people so we are able to help them and avoid unnecessary, traumatizing, and damaging situations.