Texas Report: Poor Latinos Have Really Bad Health

A report released from the Health Collaborative in San Antonio, Texas shows that Latinos in this city suffer from poor health — especially the poor ones. It’s not a surprise that poor people have poor health, but just how clearly delineated this fact is does. Thanks to our reader Jesse for the tip.

A look at visual data from the report shows that pretty much the entire south half of Bexar County is considered obese, and a graph for those diagnosed with diabetes also shows that people in the south, southeast and west parts of the county have about double the rates of diabetes as other parts of town.

Guess what parts of town the Latinos live in? According to the report, 80% of south and west Bexar County is Latino. What do you think of that coincidence? I hope you do take 5 minutes to read the following statistics, not just because they’re heartbreaking, but because, while they are specific to San Antonio, this is a pattern that surely repeats itself in cities all over the country.

Let’s look at a few examples of specific diseases that are more concentrated where the poor Latinos live:

• Nearly one-third to a half of the population in the South (45.5%), West (42.2%), and Southeast (35.7%) do not have a high school diploma.
• Median family income in South Bexar County: $31,000
• There are fewer grocery stores in Bexar County (0.102 per 1,000 residents) than fast food establishments (0.736 per 1,000 residents).
• Premature mortality from heart disease, motor vehicle accidents, diabetes, and throat and lung cancer is higher in the Southeast than North Central Bexar (approximately twice as many years of life are lost in the South compared to North Central Bexar).
• Southeast Bexar County had the highest reports of five or more days of  poor mental health with 26% of residents.
• Respondents in the South and West regions of the county were least likely to engage in activity for exercise (72% and 74% respectively).
• South had the highest prevalence of being overweight or obese at 85%.
• Southeast Bexar County counts more than eight people per 1,000 are hospitalized for mental disorders every year.
• South (48%) had the lowest percentage of dental insurance.
• In 2007, the highest rates of teen pregnancy by sector were found in West, South, and Southeast Bexar County; in West Bexar County, almost 100 teen girls got pregnant out of every 1,000.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD