WASHINGTON — Virginia and Maryland are fairly healthy states compared to the rest of the nation, which is plagued by drug-related deaths, according to a nationwide annual report released this month.
The United Health Foundation has released this year’s annual state health report. The document, which shows the overall health level of states when compared with each other, identified drug-related deaths as one of the key issues threatening the nation’s health. The foundation releases its report each year to identify health trends in the nation and establishes benchmarks for states to measure their health against the rest of the country.
According to the findings, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont were the three healthiest states in the country. Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi were last in terms of overall health.
Maryland came in at 16th, up two slots since last year’s report. Virginia rated 19th, the same position it held last year. The rankings are based on combined ratings of state health policy, community and environment, quality of clinical care available along with several other categories.
Contributing to Maryland’s overall well-being was that it has among the lowest rates of child poverty in the country. The state also had lower than average violent crime rate.
However, Maryland was also found to be in the top 10 states for excessive drinking.
Virginia was consistently in the middle of the pack in most categories. However, it had a much lower than average number of drug-related deaths than other states despite the ongoing opioid epidemic. Its neighbor, West Virginia saw the highest number of drug-related deaths per capita in the country.
The foundation’s report showed that the number of drug-related deaths nationwide continued to increase over the past year. D.C. was included in a list along with 34 states that saw an increase in the number of drug deaths in the past year. Of those deaths, six out of 10 involved some form of opioid.
According to the report, the number of adults who identify as smokers is down from last year, continuing a five-year trend. It also identifies a decrease in the level of air pollution over last year.
