Health News
- Less Than 60% Of Kentuckians Say They Visited A Dentist In The Past Year, Ranking The State 43rd In The Nation
Kentucky ranked 43rd among the 50 states in percentage of people who told pollsters that they had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. The rankings in the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index appeared to be driven largely by income and insurance....
- At Least One In Eight Teens, And Perhaps One In Five, Have A Mental-health Issue; Adhd Tops, Substance Abuse Also High
The most comprehensive report yet on mental disorders in children shows attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed problem in those aged 3-17, and the most common health issues for teenagers include addiction to...
- Kentucky Ranked Sixth In Nation For Obesity, Fourth In High Blood Pressure, Second For Diabetes
A new report shows 29.5 percent of Kentuckians are obese, sixth highest in the nation. The state ranked second in the nation for the highest percentage of diabetes, with 13.7 percent of Kentucky residents diagnosed with the disease, and fourth in...
- Nearly 1 In 3 Kentuckians Say They Know A Friend Or Relative Who Has Struggled With Prescription-pill Abuse, Poll Finds
Almost one in three Kentuckians say they have a friend or relative that has had problems stemming from prescription drug abuse, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. In Eastern Kentucky, 43.2 percent of respondents said "yes" when asked if a family...
- Kentucky Teens Under 18 Among Least Likely To Drink Alcohol, But Binge Drinking Among Them Is Nearly The National Average
About 6 percent (709,000 of 12 million) of U.S. children aged 12 to 14 drank alcohol in 2009, and nearly half got their drinks from their own home, according to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Because the data...
Health News
Polling shows Kentucky ranks third in share of residents, 24.5 percent, who say they take mood-altering drugs every day
Kentucky is the place to be for mood-altering drugs. The state ranked third in a Gallup Organization study that asked 450 adults in each state how often they use drugs and medications to affect their mood or relax them, Christopher Ingraham reports for The Washington Post. West Virginia led, with 28.1 percent of respondents saying they use mood-altering drugs every day, Rhode Island was second at 25.9 percent, but Kentucky was not far behind at 24.5 percent.
Nationally, 18.9 percent of respondents said they take drugs almost every day, while 62.2 percent said they never do, 13.1 percent said they rarely do and 5 percent said they sometimes do.
The way the question was worded allows for errors, Ingraham writes. The question asked about drugs and medications, but didn't specify which ones, and didn't mention alcohol or tobacco. That left interpretation of the question up to individual respondents.
A recent National Survey of Drug Use and Health said that at least 71 percent of American adults drank in the past year, and 56 percent drank in the past month, which if true, could raise the rates in most states, if respondents were to consider alcohol a mood-altering drug. (Read more) (To view this interactive Post map click here)
Nationally, 18.9 percent of respondents said they take drugs almost every day, while 62.2 percent said they never do, 13.1 percent said they rarely do and 5 percent said they sometimes do.
The way the question was worded allows for errors, Ingraham writes. The question asked about drugs and medications, but didn't specify which ones, and didn't mention alcohol or tobacco. That left interpretation of the question up to individual respondents.
A recent National Survey of Drug Use and Health said that at least 71 percent of American adults drank in the past year, and 56 percent drank in the past month, which if true, could raise the rates in most states, if respondents were to consider alcohol a mood-altering drug. (Read more) (To view this interactive Post map click here)
- Less Than 60% Of Kentuckians Say They Visited A Dentist In The Past Year, Ranking The State 43rd In The Nation
Kentucky ranked 43rd among the 50 states in percentage of people who told pollsters that they had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. The rankings in the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index appeared to be driven largely by income and insurance....
- At Least One In Eight Teens, And Perhaps One In Five, Have A Mental-health Issue; Adhd Tops, Substance Abuse Also High
The most comprehensive report yet on mental disorders in children shows attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed problem in those aged 3-17, and the most common health issues for teenagers include addiction to...
- Kentucky Ranked Sixth In Nation For Obesity, Fourth In High Blood Pressure, Second For Diabetes
A new report shows 29.5 percent of Kentuckians are obese, sixth highest in the nation. The state ranked second in the nation for the highest percentage of diabetes, with 13.7 percent of Kentucky residents diagnosed with the disease, and fourth in...
- Nearly 1 In 3 Kentuckians Say They Know A Friend Or Relative Who Has Struggled With Prescription-pill Abuse, Poll Finds
Almost one in three Kentuckians say they have a friend or relative that has had problems stemming from prescription drug abuse, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll has found. In Eastern Kentucky, 43.2 percent of respondents said "yes" when asked if a family...
- Kentucky Teens Under 18 Among Least Likely To Drink Alcohol, But Binge Drinking Among Them Is Nearly The National Average
About 6 percent (709,000 of 12 million) of U.S. children aged 12 to 14 drank alcohol in 2009, and nearly half got their drinks from their own home, according to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Because the data...