SOUTH CAROLINA
Ranking: South Carolina is 42nd this year; it was 48th in 2006.
Strengths: Strengths include a low prevalence of binge drinking at 13.4 percent of the population, a moderate percentage of children in poverty at 15.6 percent of persons under age 18 and high immunization coverage with 83.2 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations.
Challenges: Challenges include a low high school graduation rate with 60.6 percent of incoming ninth graders who graduate within four years, a high violent crime rate at 766 offenses per 100,000 population, a high prevalence of obesity at 29.4 percent of the population and a high premature death rate with 9,493 years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population.
Significant Changes:
↓ In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 19.4 percent to 15.6 percent of persons under age 18.
↓ In the past year, the rate of uninsured population decreased from 17.3 percent to 15.9 percent.
↓ Since 1990, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease decreased from 441.4 to 321.5 deaths per 100,000 population.
↓ Since 1990, the infant mortality rate decreased from 13.0 to 8.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Health Disparities: In South Carolina, blacks experience 52 percent more premature death than whites. Deaths from cancer in the state are 24 percent more prevalent among blacks than whites. Residents in non-urban areas of the state experience 32 percent more premature death than those in the fringe counties of large metropolitan areas.
source: United Health Foundation
