Danielle Scherbel

I am from Star Valley, Wyoming and I called our county health department and talked with Patrice. Patrice is the Lincoln County Public Health Nurse Manager.  She guided me to two websites. The first website is called http://www.wyominghealthmatters.org/, and is web-based source of population data and information about community health and healthy communities in general. The second site is called http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/, which lets you compare and contrast your county’s health status with other counties’ health status, and your state health status with other states’ health status. From these sites I learned that the top five health trends in my county, Lincoln County, are adult smoking, death due to strokes, colorectal cancer incidence, E. coli incidence, and Salmonella incidence.

Adults who smoke: In Lincoln County, Wyoming, 15.9% of adults smoke. These adults have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and are currently smoking everyday or some days. The Healthy People 2020 national health target is to reduce the proportion of adults aged 18 years and older who smoke cigarettes to 12.0%. This is a target obviously still not met in Lincoln County. Why is it important to reduce Tobacco usage? Tobacco is ranked the highest in the nation for being most responsible for avoidable illness and death in America today. Approximately one-third of all tobacco users in our country will die prematurely because of their dependence on tobacco.

Mothers who Smoked During Pregnancy: In Lincoln County, Wyoming, 8.9% of mothers smoked during pregnancy. The Healthy People 2020 national health target is to decrease the percentage of women who gave birth and who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy to 1.4%. Smoking during pregnancy poses risks for both mother and fetus. A baby born to a mother who has smoked during her pregnancy is more likely to have less developed lungs and a lower birth weight, and is more likely to be born prematurely. It is estimated that smoking during pregnancy causes up to ten percent of all infant deaths. Even after a baby is born, secondhand smoking can contribute to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), asthma onset, and stunted growth.

Age-Adjusted Death Rate Due to Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke): In Lincoln County, Wyoming, there are 48 deaths per 100,000 population due to strokes. The Healthy People 2020 national health target is to reduce the stroke deaths to 33.8 deaths per 100,000 population. Lincoln County has some prevention work to do to lower the rate of deaths from strokes. Cerebrovascular diseases rank third among the leading causes of death in the United States. Cerebrovascular disease can cause a stroke. A stroke occurs when blood vessels carrying oxygen to the brain become blocked or burst, thereby cutting off the brain's supply of oxygen. Lack of oxygen causes brain cells to die, which then can lead to death or disability. Each year, approximately 795,000 people in the U.S. will suffer a new or recurrent stroke.

Colorectal Cancer Incidence Rate: In Lincoln County, Wyoming, there are 51.8 cases per 100,000 population due to colorectal cancer (colon or rectum cancer). The Healthy People 2020 national health target is to reduce the colorectal cancer incidence rate to 38.6 cases per 100,000 population. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. If adults aged 50 or older had regular screening tests, as many as 60% of the deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented. In the U.S. in 2009, it is estimated that there were 106,100 new cases and 49,920 deaths from colorectal cancer.

E. coli Incidence Rate: In Lincoln County, Wyoming, there are 6.0 cases per 100,000 population due to E. coli incidences.  The Healthy People 2020 national health target is to reduce the E. coli O157:H7 incidence rate to 0.6 cases per 100,000 population. E. coli bacteria cause disease by making a toxin, or poison. The symptoms of E. coli infections vary for each person but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. Most people get better within 5-7 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life threatening. E. coli live in the guts of ruminant animals, including cattle, goats, sheep, deer, and elk. Major routes of transmission include consumption of contaminated food, consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk, consumption of water that has not been disinfected, contact with cattle, or contact with the feces of infected people. Experts think that there may be about 70,000 infections with E. coli each year in the United States.