Large Geographic and Economic Disparities in Health of St. Louis Residents, Report Finds

A strong correlation exists between the socioeconomic makeup of St. Louis neighborhoods and the overall health of their residents, according to a new study from the St. Louis Department of Health, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The study analyzed the city's 18 zip codes using 63 variables, including injury, disease and death rates, as well as the availability of clinics and hospitals. The Post-Dispatch reports that the study found that "the health of city residents was sharply divided along geographic, economic and racial lines," with neighborhoods "that experienced the highest rates of asthma, lead poisoning, low birth weight and overall death rates" also being those with the "highest rates if poverty, crime and unemployment." In addition, African-American neighborhoods "did poorly on every health indicator except suicide, teen abortions, smoking during pregnancy and deaths from motor vehicles." Depicting the dichotomy in the city, the study found that those living in better-off neighborhoods could be characterized as "healthy people in healthy communities," while residents in poorer neighborhoods faced "lives of increasing misery by almost all measurable standards." Louise Quesada, the health department official who led the study, said, "I was surprised at the consistency of how bad things are. It was shocking to see that the gap between best and worst could be that huge and consistent over time" (Shelton, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/22). To access the full report, go to http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/health/FinalDraft%201.pdf. Note you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the report.