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Jerry Aneke

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16 October 2017

Health Outcomes for the San Bernardino County

Because the San Bernardino County is one of the poorer counties in California, I expect

the health outcomes for the San Bernardino County to be lower than those of California as a

whole. Because the San Bernardino County is one of the poorer counties in California, I expect

diseases resulting from terrible diets such as diabetes, heart attacks, and heart disease to be the

leading causes of death in the San Bernardino County because of poor food quality. I expect

African Americans to be most at risk for high blood pressure and for both African Americans

and Hispanics to be most at risk for diabetes.

Some of the leading causes of death in the San Bernardino County are heart disease,

diabetes, and high blood pressure. According to the San Bernardino County website, in 2013,

6.5% percent of adults in the San Bernardino County had heart disease and 189.6 out of every

100,000 residents died from it, while 5.6% percent of adults in California had heart disease

(Community Indicators Report, 2015). According to the San Bernardino County Community

Vitals Data Report, the death rates for heart disease in the San Bernardino County are 284.4 out

of every 100,000 residents for whites, 205.3 out of 100,000 for Latinos, 297.5 out of 100,000 for

African Americans, and 171.4 out of 100,000 for Asians (County of San Bernardino, 2013).
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Death Rates for People with Heart

Disease in the San Bernardino County for
Each Racial Group
350.00
Deaths (per every 100,000 residents)

300.00

250.00

200.00

150.00 Death Rates for Heart

Disease in the San
100.00 Bernardino County
50.00

0.00
Hispanic or White African Asian
Latino American
Racial Group
According to

the CDC, the death rate for heart disease in California is 142.2 out every 100,000 residents (CDC

[…], 2014). I am not surprised that the death rate for heart disease is so high because many

people in the San Bernardino County and California have a poor diet and have more sedentary

lifestyles. With so many people eating unhealthy foods, exercising less, and drinking alcohol in

excess, I am surprised that more people don’t have heart disease and that the death rates weren’t

higher.

According to the San Bernardino County website, in 2013, 12.3% percent of adults in the

San Bernardino County had diabetes and 33 out of every 100,000 residents died from it, while

8.7% percent of adults in California had diabetes(Community Indicators Report,

2015).According to the San Bernardino County Community Vitals Data Report, the death rates

for diabetes in the San Bernardino County are 28.6 out of every 100,000 residents for whites,

42.9 out of 100,000 for Latinos, 56.5 out of 100,000 for African Americans, and 30.6 out of

100,000 for Asians (County of San Bernardino, 2013).

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Death Rates for Diabetes in the San

Bernardino County for Each Racial Group
60.00
Deaths (per every 100,000 residents)

50.00

40.00

30.00

20.00 Death Rates for Diabetes in

the San Bernardino County
10.00

0.00
Hispanic White African Asian
or Latino American
Racial Group
According to

the CDC, the death rate for diabetes in California is 20.4 out of every 100,000 residents (CDC

[…], 2014). I am not surprised by the vast amount of people in the San Bernardino County that

have diabetes because there is a large amount of added sugar in sugary beverages such as soda

and juice, and in most processed foods and fast food. Most people in the San Bernardino County

drink more sugary beverages and consume more processed foods and fast foods because they are

cheaper, tastier, and more accessible than healthier alternatives. However, I am surprised that the

death rate for diabetes isn’t higher in both the San Bernardino County and California. It might be

because hospitals have gotten better at detecting diabetes early and that better medication has

come around to maintain one’s diabetes and prevent it from getting worse.

According to the San Bernardino County website, in 2013, 29.3% percent of adults in the

San Bernardino County had high blood pressure and 38.2 out of every 100,000 residents died

from it, while 27.7% percent of adults in California had high blood pressure (Community

Indicators Report, 2015).According to the CDC, the death rate for high blood pressure in

California is 11.2 out of every 100,000 residents (CDC […], 2014). I am not surprised by this

because many people in the San Bernardino County and California eat processed foods because
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they are cheap and tasty, and most processed foods have large amounts of sodium, which acts as

a preservative to help processed foods last longer. Sodium is known to increase blood pressure. I

am surprised that the death rate for high blood pressure is so low in California, despite so many

people having it. This could be because there is more medication available now to lower blood

pressure.

Percentages of Adults with Heart

Disease, Diabetes, or High Blood
Pressure in the San Bernardino
County vs. California
35.00%
Percentage of Adult Population

30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00% San Bernardino
10.00% County
5.00% California
0.00%
Heart Diabetes High Blood
Disease Pressure
Name of Disease

Death Rates for People with Heart Disease,

Diabetes, or High Blood Pressure in
California
160.00
Deaths (per every 100,000 residents)

140.00
120.00
100.00
80.00
60.00 California
40.00
20.00
0.00
Heart Disease Diabetes High Blood Pressure
Name of Disease
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Top communicable diseases in the San Bernardino County are Chlamydia infections and

hepatitis C. According to the 2016 County of San Bernardino Communicable Disease Report,

out of the 11,507 reported cases of Chlamydia in the San Bernardino County, 2,280of the people

were Hispanic, 1,027 were white, 1,269 were African American, 174 were Asian or Pacific

Islander, 39 were American Indian or Alaska Native, 1,011 were some other race, and 5,707

were unknown (San Bernardino County […], 2015).

Number of Reported Cases of Chlamydia in

the San Bernardino County for Each Racial
Group
2,500
# of Reported Cases

2,000

1,500

1,000

500
Number of Reported Cases of
0
Chlamydia in the San
Bernardino County

Racial Group
I am not

surprised by the vast amounts of reported cases of Chlamydia because Chlamydia is mainly a

sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted diseases are usually more common in

poorer areas that lack access to proper sexual health education. San Bernardino County is one of

the poorer counties in California, so information about proper sexual health might not be as

easily available in comparison to other counties in California, especially in poorer areas of the
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San Bernardino County, so it makes sense that the amount of reported cases of Chlamydia would

be so high in this county.

According to the 2016 County of San Bernardino Communicable Disease Report, out of

the 4,600 reported cases of chronic hepatitis C in the San Bernardino County, 199 of the people

were Hispanic, 527were white, 178 were African American, 34 were Asian or Pacific Islander, 6

were American Indian or Alaska Native, 402 were some other race, and 3,254 were unknown

(San Bernardino County […], 2015).

Number of Reported Cases of Chronic

Hepatitis C in the San Bernardino County
for Each Racial Group
600
500
# of Reported Cases

400
300
200
100
0 Number of Reported Cases of
Chronic Hepatitis C in the San
Bernardino County

Racial Group
I am shocked

that more whites have been reported with chronic hepatitis C than both Hispanics and African

Americans. Chronic hepatitis C is mainly contracted through contact with infected blood, but it

could also be a sexually transmitted infection. So because Hispanics and African Americans had

the highest number of reported cases of a sexually transmitted infection such as Chlamydia, I

thought that the situation would be the same for chronic hepatitis C, but I was wrong.
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Based on the mortality and morbidity data for the San Bernardino County, it seems that

the racial groups most at risk for getting diseases and dying from them are Hispanics and African

Americans. According to the 2011-2015 American Community Survey, the largest racial group

in the San Bernardino County is Hispanics and most of the people living in poverty are Hispanics

and African Americans (U.S Census Bureau, 2015). So in comparison to the demographic data, it

seems that the racial groups that had the largest population size and highest percentage of people

in poverty were the ones that had more diseases and died from them. For this county, the

Hispanic population was the largest and the African American population had the most people in

poverty.

Poverty has a negative impact on health because those in poverty usually can’t afford

medicine, health insurance, and nutritious food. Those in poverty usually have less social support

and less financial resources to support them, so they are more likely to get sick and stay sick.

People that have adequate social support are sick less often because they are usually less

stressed. Those with adequate incomes or other financial support are able to afford medicine and

healthcare to help lessen their periods of sickness and can even afford to live healthier lifestyles,

such as having a good diet, in order to lower their chances of getting sick in the first place. Most

people in poverty can’t afford to eat healthy food, so they usually have to settle for really cheap

junk food, which could lead to obesity and other health problems such as high blood pressure

and diabetes. Some people in poverty can’t afford to purchase any food at all and end up either

being really malnourished or dying from starvation.

I learned that although Hispanics and African Americans have the highest mortality and

morbidity rates, there are some diseases and health conditions that whites are more affected by.

For instance, I was surprised to learn that more whites died from heart disease than Hispanics in
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the San Bernardino County. I was also surprised to learn that whites had the reported cases of

chronic hepatitis C in the San Bernardino County.

According to the 2014 County Health Rankings in California, the San Bernardino County

ranked 40 out of 57 for health outcomes and ranked 45 out of 57 for health factors (University of

Wisconsin […], 2014). This means that the San Bernardino County is on the lower end when it

comes to health outcomes and health factors. Health outcomes for each county are measured by

the length and quality of life in the county (University of Wisconsin […], 2014). Health factors

are measured by health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical

environment (University of Wisconsin […], 2014). Based on the San Bernardino County’s

placement on these rankings, the people in this county, in general, have shorter lifespans, poorer

health, engage in more risky health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and unprotected sex,

have less access to and lower quality of healthcare, live in more dangerous communities, have

less social support, are less financially secure, are less educated, live in more polluted

environments, and have more housing problems than people in most other counties.
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Works Cited

Centers of Disease and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. (2014). Stats for the

State of California. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/california.htm

Community Indicators Report. (2015). Chronic Health. Retrieved from

http://wp.sbcounty.gov/indicators/health/disease/

County of San Bernardino. (2013). San Bernardino County: Our Community Vital Signs 2013

Data Report. Retrieved from

http://www.communityvitalsigns.org/portals/41/meetings/2013stakeholder/cvs_data_repo

rt.pdf

San Bernardino County Department of Public Health Communicable Disease Section. (2016).

2016 Annual Morbidity Report. Retrieved from http://wp.sbcounty.gov/dph/wp-

content/uploads/sites/7/2017/09/Annual-Report-2016-Final.pdf

University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. (2014). 2014 Rankings California.

Retrieved from

http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/state/downloads/CHR2014_CA_v2.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau. (2015). 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates[Data

File]. Retrieved from

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF