General Health
Contra Costa County ranks 11th out of all California counties in the County Health Rankings for Health Outcomes.1 However, there are inequities when it comes to race, ethnicity, income and education.2 Poverty and lower educational attainment are associated with shorter life expectancy and poorer health status.3 For example, in the year 2000, a child born in a low-poverty area could expect to live more than six years longer than a child born in a high-poverty area.4 Additionally, a child born in an area with high educational attainment could expect to live more than seven years longer than a child born in an area of low educational attainment.5 In terms of race and ethnicity, between 2005-2007, the life expectancy for African American babies was a full 12 years shorter than Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic babies born in Contra Costa County at the same time.6
Among all county residents, 91.2% have some form of insurance.7 This number drops to 74.9% among those living below 200% of the federal poverty level.8 The implementation of the Affordable Care Act/Covered California will likely lower the number of uninsured and future reports should tell us more about the impact on the community.
Lung Health
According to the California Health Interview Survey, 9.8% of Contra Costa County residents are current smokers.9 The population with the highest smoking rates are African-American men, 30.5% of whom smoke.10
Overall, lung disease (including lung cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, asthma, influenza, and pneumonia) accounts for more deaths than any other health condition, with an age-adjusted death rate of 117.1 deaths per 100,000 people.11
Lung Cancer
Contra Costa County is ranked 24th in California with an age-adjusted death rate of 30.6 deaths per 100,000 people.12 Lung cancer is the fourth largest killer of county residents.13 Between 20117 and 2015, black men had the highest death rates in the county, with an age-adjusted death rate of 52.4 per 100,000 population, followed by white males with a death rate of 40.2 per 100,000.14
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
COPD is the fifth leading cause of death in Contra Costa County with an age-adjusted death rate of 31.1 deaths per 100,000 population, which is lower than the California death rate of 33.3.15 This ranks Contra Costa County as 18th in the state.16 Contra Costa residents 85 years and older are the most likely to die of COPD.17 Women in Contra Costa County over the age of 65 are also more likely to die of COPD than men.18
Asthma
As of 2013, approximately 19.3% of residents in Contra Costa County have been diagnosed with asthma.19
Tuberculosis
In 2017, Contra Costa County had 61 cases of tuberculosis and was ranked 13th out of the 58 counties in California.20 Asians had the highest number of cases at 3521 as well as residents aged 85 years and older22, and 77% of all cases occurred in foreign-born residents.23 Despite this, 69% of the foreign-born residents diagnosed with TB have lived in the United States.24 In California, 86% of the TB cases have been reported to be the pulmonary form of the disease.25 Residents with diabetes were reported to be at the highest risk for contracting tuberculosis.26
Influenza/Pneumonia
Influenza and Pneumonia are the 11th leading cause of death in Contra Costa County, with an age-adjusted death rate of 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people.27 This rate is lower than the prior year’s death rate of 9.8 deaths per 100,000 people and significantly lower than the statewide rate of 16.0 deaths per 100,000 people.28 This ranks Contra Costa as thirteenth out of California’s 58 counties.29 Residents over the age of 85 are the most likely to die from influenza/ pneumonia compared to the rest of the population.30
Sources
1. University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. (2018). California Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Retrieved August 2018, from http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2018/rankings/contra-costa/county/outcomes/overall/snapshot
2. Contra Costa Health Services. (2010). Community Health Indicators for Contra Costa County. Retrieved August 2018 from http://cchealth.org/health-data/hospital-council/2010/pdf/2010_community_health_indicators_report_complete.pdf, p.50-73
3. Ibid. p.34
4. Ibid. p.5
5. Ibid. p.6
6. Ibid. p.6
7. UCLA. (2016). California Health Interview Survey 2016. Contra Costa: Center for Health Policy and Research. Retrieved August 2018 from http://ask.chis.ucla.edu
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. California Department of Public Health. (2018). County Health Status Profiles 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/OHIRProfiles2017.pdf
12. Ibid.
13. California Department of Public Health. (2018). Individual County Data Sheets (2018). Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/CHSP-CONTRACOSTA.pdf
14. Centers for Disease Control National Cancer Institute. (2015). State Cancer Profiles Death Rates Table. Retrieved August 2018 from http://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/cgi-bin/deathrates/deathrates.pl?06&047&00&0&001&1&1&1#results
15. California Department of Public Health. (2018). County Health Status Profiles 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/OHIRProfiles2017.pdf
16. Ibid.
17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). WONDER Database. Retrieved August 2018, from http://wonder.cdc.gov/
18. Ibid.
19. UCLA. (2016). California Health Interview Survey 2016. Contra Costa: Center for Health Policy and Research. Retrieved August 2018 from http://ask.chis.ucla.edu
20. California Department of Public Health. (2018). TBCB Tuberculosis Provisional Tables in California, 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/TBCB-TB-Provisional-Tables-2017.pdf
21. Contra Costa Health Service.(2017). Tuberculosis in Contra Costa 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://cchealth.org/tb/pdf/Infographic-2017.pdf
22. Statistical Atlas. (2018). Race and Ethnicity in Contra Costa Centre, California, 2018. Retrieved August 2018 from https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Contra-Costa-Centre/Race-and-Ethnicity
23. Contra Costa Health Service.(2017). Tuberculosis in Contra Costa 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://cchealth.org/tb/pdf/Infographic-2017.pdf
24. World Net Daily.(2018). Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.wnd.com/2018/03/69-of-u-s-2017-tb-cases-diagnosed-in-foreign-born/
25. California Department of Public Health. (2018). Report on Tuberculosis in California, 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/TBCB_Report_2017.pdf
26. Ibid.
27. California Department of Public Health. (2018). County Health Status Profiles, 2017. Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/OHIRProfiles2017.pdf
28. Ibid.
29. California Department of Public Health. (2018). Individual County Data Sheets (2018). Retrieved August 2018 from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH%20Document%20Library/CHSP-CONTRACOSTA.pdf
30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). WONDER Database (2016). Retrieved August 2018 from http://wonder.cdc.gov/