America's Health: State Health Rankings - 2004 Edition
Intro and Findings
  
Components
  
State Snapshots
  
Methodology
  
Commentaries and Special Features
Foreword and Introduction   Selection of Components   State by State Snapshots   Methodology   Letter from Director of The Centers for Disease Control
Measures of Success   Combined Measures:
 Risk Factors/Outcomes		   All State Summaries   Weighting of Components   The State of Infant Health: Is There Trouble Ahead
2004 Results    
Appendices
   The Obesity Epidemic: A Call to Action
Changes from 2003, 1990   Risk Factors    Occupational Fatalities   Index of Tables   Eliminating Health Disparities
Comparison to Other Nations   Outcomes    Health Disparity       Getting Involved: Your Responsibility

Colorado

Colorado is 13th this year; it was ninth in 2003. Colorado ranks among the top ten states for seven of the 18 individual measures; the state has a low prevalence of smoking at 18.6 percent of the population, a low prevalence of obesity at 16.0 percent of the population, a low percentage of children in poverty at 11.9 percent of persons under age 18, a low number of limited activity days per month at 1.7 days in the previous 30 days, a low rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease at 278.6 deaths per 100,000 population, a low rate of cancer deaths at 179.1 deaths per 100,000 population and a low total mortality rate at 806.2 deaths per 100,000 population. One challenge for Colorado is its low access to adequate prenatal care with only 67.3 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care. The state is 14th for the combined measures of risk factors and sixth for the combined measures of outcomes, indicating that the state's relative healthiness may remain steady or decline in future years if the risk factors are not addressed. Differences in access to adequate prenatal care illustrate health disparities within the state. Only 54.8 percent of pregnant American Indian women receive adequate prenatal care compared to 69.6 percent of pregnant Asian/Pacific Islander women and 67.7 percent of pregnant white women.

In the past year, the rate of motor vehicle deaths declined from 1.7 to 1.4 deaths per 100,000,000 miles driven.

Since 1990, the prevalence of smoking has decreased from 28.6 percent to 18.6 percent of the population, the percentage of children in poverty has decreased from 21.8 percent to 11.9 percent of persons under age 18 and access to adequate prenatal care has decreased from 71.2 percent to 67.3 percent of pregnant women receiving adequate prenatal care.

To learn more about health and health initiatives in Colorado, visit the Colorado state department of health Web site at: www.cdphe.state.co.us/

Colorado graph Download this state report as a PDF file 		 
Rankings
Measurement Data
2004
2003
1990
2004
2003
1990
Risk Factors - Personal Behaviors
      
4
6
16
 Prevalence of Smoking (Percent of population)
18.6
20.4
28.6
17
28
6
 Motor Vehicle Deaths (Deaths per 100,000,000 miles driven)
1.4
1.7
1.8
1
1
1
 Prevalence of Obesity (Percent of population)
16.0
16.5
6.9
30
30
28
 High School Graduation (Percent of incoming ninth graders)
70.0
69.3
76.0
Risk Factors - Community Environment
      
24
21
30
 Violent Crime (Offenses per 100,000 population)
352
351
468
36
35
28
 Lack of Health Insurance (Percent without health insurance)
17.2
16.1
12.8
18
18
27
 Infectious Disease (Cases per 100,000 population)
13.3
14.3
32.0
10
11
35
 Children in Poverty (percent of persons under age 18)
11.9
10.6
21.8
27
18
33
 Occupational Fatalities (Deaths per 100,000 workers)
5.3
4.9
11.6*
Risk Factors - Health Policies
      
36
33
-
 Percent of Health Dollars for Public Health (Percent of health exp.)
3.2
4.4
-
37
44
-
 Per Capita Public Health Spending ($ per person)
$24
$28
-
48
45
23
 Adequacy of Prenatal Care (Percent of pregnant women)
67.3
68.2
71.2
Outcomes
      
7
16
9
 Limited Activity Days (Days in last 30 days)
1.7
1.8
2.9*
4
4
1
 Cardiovascular Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population)
278.6
285.9
335.0
4
3
1
 Cancer Deaths (Deaths per 100,000 population)
179.1
177.2
170.2
10
11
7
 Total Mortality (Deaths per 100,000 population)
806.2
809.7
808.5
16
11
14
 Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 live births)
6.0
6.0
9.2
12
10
11
 Premature Death (Years lost per 100,000 population)
6,476
6,448
7,353
13
9
14
Overall
11.6
13.9
9.8

A dash (--) indicates data not available.
* Data sources and/or methdology may not be comparable for this year.