A new study shows Connecticut's seniors are the tenth healthiest in the nation.
America's Health Rankings is a report that has studied the nation's health for a quarter century. Three years ago, it decided to start reporting on seniors, too. Dr. Rhonda Randall is a senior advisor to the report and the United Health Foundation, which puts it out. And she said the premise is simple.
"Can a state be healthy if its seniors are not?" she asked.
The study looks at all kinds of factors, including behavior, community and environment, public policy, clinical care, and outcomes. And Connecticut's ranking at ten is two points better than it was a year earlier. Here's why.
"Flu vaccine coverage increased, the viability of home healthcare workers increased, you have a high percentage of seniors who had a dental visit," she said. "We're also seeing a low percentage of seniors who live in poverty in the state of Connecticut."
On the flip side, Connecticut has a high rate of seniors living in nursing homes who could probably live in a less restrictive, and less expensive, alternative. Also, seniors in the state have a high rate of what's called food insecurity -- they are concerned about their access to food.
"Why we're concerned about that is that it's a proxy marker for the risk of under nutrition in seniors," she said.
Also, while the numbers showed that the state's seniors are able bodied and they don't smoke as much as their peers in other states, they do have a high rate of chronic drinking.
"What we're concerned about there is what the excessive alcohol consumption can mean to seniors. So, this can cause chronic diseases and preventable death," Randall said. Another area she's concerned about nationally is physical activity. On that metric, Connecticut is in the middle of the pack.
