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Southern states highest in hypertension


 

The states with the 10 highest rates of adult hypertension in 2011 were all in the South, the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported.

In Alabama, which had the highest rate, an estimated 40.0% of the adult population had hypertension. Next up was Mississippi at 39.2%, followed by Tennessee (38.6%), Louisiana (38.3%), and Kentucky (37.9%), according to "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2013."

The state with the lowest prevalence of adult hypertension was Utah, which had a rate of 22.9% in 2011. The rest of the lowest five were Colorado (24.9%), Minnesota (26.3%), California (27.8%), and Arizona (28.0%), the report said.

The hypertension data for the report came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System.

rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

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