Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), including heart disease and stroke

• Cardiovascular Disease is the leading cause of death in Mississippi. 10,195 Mississippians died from CVD in 2007, accounting for 36% of all deaths.
• 1,531 Mississippians died from stroke in 2007. It was the fourth leading cause of death in Mississippi, accounting for 5.5% of all deaths.
• Mississippi's CVD mortality rate is the highest in the nation, with a mortality rate in 2005 that was 25% higher than the U.S. as a whole. More Mississippians die each year from CVD than from all types of cancer, traffic injuries, suicides, and AIDS combined.
• In 2007, approximately 9.0% of Mississippi adults, or 198,380 persons, reported having some form of CVD:
  • 4% of adults (89,065 persons) had coronary heart disease in some form
  • 4.5% of adults (100,806 persons) had been diagnosed with a heart attack in the past
  • 3.4% of adults (75,702 persons) had been diagnosed with a stroke in the past

Read more about our Cardiovascular Health program

Diabetes and Related Complications

• Diabetes is a major cause of morbidity, disability, and mortality for Mississippians and a major source of health care costs in the state. In 2007, about 238,658 Mississippi adults were diagnosed with diabetes. Many more cases went undiagnosed.
• Mississippi's diabetes prevalence has risen from 9.5% in 2005 to 11.1% in 2007. This represents a 16.8% increase. In addition, 30,123 individuals were diagnosed with pre-diabetes in 2006.
• 639 Mississippians died from diabetes mellitus in 2007. It was the eighth leading cause of death in Mississippi, accounting for 2.3% of all deaths.

Read more about controlling Diabetes

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Cancer Incidence and Mortality

• In Mississippi, cancer accounted for about 21% of all deaths in 2007. It was the second leading cause of death.
• The age-adjusted mortality rate due to cancer in 2007 was 197.9 deaths per 100,000 population.
• Men die from cancer at much higher rates than women in Mississippi (268.6 deaths per 100,000 population vs. 149.5 deaths per 100,000 population).
• Cancer death rates are highest among African-American men (329.6 deaths per 100,000 population).
• Of all states, Mississippi had the sixth highest rate of death due to all cancers in 2005.
• Mississippi had the sixth highest death rate (65.8 deaths per 100,000 population) due to lung cancer in 2005.

Read more about our Cancer Control program

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Arthritis in Mississippi

• Arthritis is a leading cause of disability among persons aged 15 years and older in Mississippi.
• The arthritis prevalence for Mississippi adults was 30.5% – almost one-third – in 2007.

Read more about our Arthritis program

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Main Risk Factors for Chronic Disease

• Smoking: Smoking is the single most important modifiable risk factor for CVD/CHD. In 2007, approximately 24% of adult Mississippians were smokers. About 19% of Mississippi high school students smoked cigarettes in 2007.
• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): In 2007, the prevalence of hypertension was 33.7%. Approximately 725,000 Mississippi adults are estimated to have hypertension.
• High Blood Cholesterol: In 2007, the prevalence of adult Mississippians reporting a high blood cholesterol level was 38.5%.
• Lack of Regular Physical Activity
  • In 2007, about 60% of adult Mississippians were not physically active on a regular basis (at least 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes per session.
  • More than half of Mississippi adults are sedentary: they reported no leisure time physical activity or only irregular physical activity. In 2007, about 32% of Mississippi adults reported no leisure time physical activity.
  • In 2007, about 47% of Mississippi high school students watched 3 or more hours of TV per day on an average school day.
• Diet: In 2007, only 18.1% of adult Mississippians reported consuming fruits and vegetables 5 or more times a day.
• Being Overweight/Obese
  • Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the nation. In 2007, 36% of adult Mississippians were overweight (BMI was between 25 and 30); 33% were obese (BMI was 30 or more).
  • The percentage of Mississippi high school students who were obese was 17.9% in 2007.
  • The percentage of Mississippi students who were at risk for becoming overweight was 17.9% in 2007.

Know Your Numbers: the four basic numbers you need to know to stay in touch with your health

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Preventive Health and Health Care

• Of all states, Mississippi has the eighth highest percentage (19.3%) of adults 18 and over who reported no health care coverage.
• In 2006, approximately 78% reported not ever having had a fecal occult blood test.
• In 2006, approximately 50% of adult Mississippians reported not ever having had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

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• CDC WONDER
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2005-2007
• Mississippi Vital Statistics, 2007
• Mississippi Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2007

The 2005 population estimates for CDC WONDER for Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi do not reflect population changes that occurred after Hurricane Katrina.