Submitted by bostonglobe t3_125n84b in massachusetts
From Globe.com:
Massachusetts residents are healthier than the average American, according to a national survey of health data, but their health varies widely based on where they live.
The University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute on Wednesday released its annual rankings of the health of US counties, based on more than 90 factors such as food security, transportation, housing, education and air pollution. The institute also released data that compared the overall health of each state to the national average.
Researchers found that the Commonwealth is healthier than most states. Massachusetts residents smoke less, are less likely to be obese and are more physically active than average Americans. Residents are also more likely to have completed high school, obtained some level of higher education and are more likely to vote, all factors that contribute to overall health.
However, that health is not evenly distributed, according to the report, which ranked Nantucket and Middlesex counties as the healthiest and Berkshire and Hampden counties as the least healthy. Suffolk County, home to Boston, Revere and Chelsea, ranked eleventh out of 14.
How long you live, for example, can depend on where you live. Residents of Nantucket county were found to have a life expectancy of 83 years, almost 6 years longer than residents of Hampden County, which includes Springfield and Holyoke, who lived on average to 77.4, researchers found.
NightWalk77 t1_je4wlfl wrote
I wonder if access to healthcare was a factor? I've lived with major medical issues my whole life so I don't expect to live to the average. Now in my mid 40s. I live in Essex county.