Health report offers good news, bad news
June 30, 2007
Kyle Alspach
REGION
Bad habits down; teen drinking up
A new state report has found that a region including Boston's western suburbs was generally healthier than the rest of the state, with low death rates due to heart disease and diabetes, the smallest percentage of smokers of any region, and the lowest rate of infant mortality.
" The region has a number of very good health indicators," said John Auerbach , commissioner of the Department of Public Health.
It was the first time the agency had issued a report comparing health statistics in various regions in Massachusetts. The report divides the state into six zones. The report's Metrowest category contained most of the western suburbs, Cambridge, Quincy, and several other communities north and south of Boston.
Auerbach called it the "most comprehensive look at the data that has ever been done. . . . We know that more information is better for people at the local level."
Amid the good news, the report revealed a surprisingly high rate of underage drinking. It also showed that black and Hispanic residents had more health prob lems than white residents in the region.
The report found that 35.3 percent of youth ages 12 to 20 had used alcohol in the month before they were surveyed. It was the second highest rate of any region , behind only Western Massachusetts, which had a rate of 36.7 percent. The state average was 34.1 percent, with the central region of the state coming in the lowest at 31.2 percent.
The report shows the region still has work to do in combating underage drinking, according to Martin Cohen , president and chief executive of the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation .
Cohen said alcohol tends to be the drug of choice for suburban youth, since it is often available in the home and its use is seen as just "kids being kids."
To address this problem, he said, the foundation has in past years given out $2 million in grants as part of a Youth Substance Abuse Initiative. Framingham, Hopkinton, Milford-Bellingham, Needham, and Wayland have started programs using the grants, while Ashland, Holliston, Medfield, and Natick recently received grants for the first time and are set to begin programs shortly.
In Ashland, the middle and high schools soon will begin rolling out a new anti substance -abuse curriculum in health classes that Assistant Superintendent Kay Wood said will be much more effective than in the past.
The district will also begin offering an after-school and weekend program for middle school students next spring to keep children busy and away from the temptation of alcohol, Wood said. Most underage drinking occurs when kids have too much time on their hands and are unsupervised, she said.
"The programs will be open to all kids. We consider all young teens at risk," Wood said.
Another problem that the state report highlights is the disparity between the health of whites and that of some minorities.
The report said blacks and Hispanics have higher rates of death from diabetes and HIV than whites in the region, mirroring a statewide trend. Black residents also have a higher death rate due to heart disease, both regionally and statewide, according to the report.
Cohen said his foundation has begun issuing new grants to target the problem, such as a $35,000 award recently given to the predominantly black Greater Framingham Community Church .
The grant will be used to offer cardiovascular screenings through the church, said Edna Smith , a church member and registered nurse who is helping to set up the program.
The church also will offer exercise classes and other events, such as healthy cooking seminars and a health fair, with help from the grant and local organizations, Smith said.
"We're hoping to help several hundred people. If it's a success, the idea is that churches in other communities might be able to replicate this."
The full report can be viewed at mass.gov/dph under the category Regional Health Status Indicators Reports.
� Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
