Brittney Frehner--Community Health Trends

I am from Salt Lake County and was curious about what Public Health trends are occurring there. I contacted and spoke to a lady, Linsey, from the Salt Lake County Health Department. Her individual job duties at the health department are to work with Healthy Communities. They organize and base their activities around grassroots efforts. The principles surrounding the composition of Healthy Communities and how they operate are founded on evidence based principles but not necessarily evidence based specific programs. The following are the top 5 issues that she is seeing within Salt Lake County:

1.       Obesity and issues surrounding weight and body image. About 57% are overweight or obese in Salt Lake County. This is almost equal in the amount of women and men. There are also several children and adolescents that are included in this number. Many know that they are overweight and know that they should be doing something about it but are basically too lazy to do anything about it. This also includes several affected by eating disorders. There are several programs in effect about acknowledging your body image and efforts in making it healthy.

2.       High Cholesterol. The 57% that are overweight or obese is the main cause of high cholesterol due to LDL going up and HDL going down.  And in addition to this, women after menopause have in increase in their LDL levels. This also leads to a greater risk for heart disease which is the leading cause of death in Salt Lake County. There are many that are trying to find ways to lower their cholesterol and there are lots of different programs that are in effect trying to assist the community in doing so.

3.       High Blood Pressure. About 20% of the people in Salt Lake County have high blood pressure. The main issue with high blood pressure is that many who have it are unaware that they do. Untreated high blood pressure leads to heart disease and stroke which are the top two leading causes of death in Salt Lake County. The majority that are overweight or obese also have high blood pressure. It also increases with age. The main way to know if you have high blood pressure is through regular checkups.

4.       Diabetes. Linsey also said that diabetes is the top 4^th leading cause of death in Salt Lake County, top 6^th in Utah. It is also one of the major leading causes of disability followed by death. It is major cause of heart disease and stroke which are the top two leading causes of death in Salt Lake County. The majority of those being diagnosed with diabetes are Caucasian and there are several who die undiagnosed. The risk of fatality for individuals with diabetes is twice as much than those without.

5.       Lack of access to healthcare. With all of the many illnesses and concerns that people have lack of access to healthcare is one of the big issues that is seen throughout Salt Lake County. A main reason for this is financial problems. But without going to the doctor for illnesses or even for regular checkups, there are several conditions that can be prevented but don’t. These lead to other symptoms which lead to chronic illnesses and the leading causes of death. With access to health care so many symptoms can be treated and prevented resulting in less deaths and a healthier community.