Report Shows Women's Health Patterns

The Department of Health andHuman Services Office on Women'sHealth and the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention recentlyreleased The Women's Health andMortality Chartbook, a collection ofcurrent state data on critical issues ofrelevance to women's health. Thereport ranks each state, the District ofColumbia, and Puerto Rico on 27indicators, such as major causes ofdeath, health risk factors, preventivecare, and health insurance coverage.

The indicators selected for thereport are those that are analyzedregularly at the state level, cover awide range of health concerns, representa wide range of disease types,and cover the full life span of women.The data revealed the following:

• 8 of the 10 states with the highest stroke death rates are in the South
• Colorado, Hawaii, and Utah have among the lowest death rates forheart disease and cancers
• The Northeast states have the highest proportion of women withrecent mammograms and recent cholesterol screenings
• Hawaii has the lowest overall death rate for women
• Colorado has the lowest rate of obesity
• Minnesota ranks the best in terms of health insurance coverage

The Women's Health and MortalityChartbook reflects current publichealth priorities. To view or downloadthe report, visit www.cdc.gov/nchs.