In this report, we compared the prevalence rates of several chronic conditions, and behavioral and preventive health issues among Georgians with respective national (U.S.) and regional (Southeast) averages. We used nationally representative data from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the last five waves (2016 to 2020) of the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) to assess the prevalence rates across the following domains: sex, race/ethnicity, income, and residence (urban/rural). We further reported the prevalence rates by age group and educational attainment.
Among chronic conditions, the prevalence of high cholesterol among Georgians is comparable to the national average, but lower than the regional average. Prevalence rates of hypertension and obesity, however, are significantly higher among Georgian adults than the national average, though lower than (for hypertension) and comparable to (for obesity) the regional average. Other than asthma, the prevalence rates of noncommunicable diseases among Georgians are lower than respective regional averages. Georgians, however, have higher cardiovascular diseases (CVD) prevalence compared to the national average.
Among behavioral health issues, prevalence of heavy drinking among Georgians is lower than the national and regional average. Prevalence of current smoking, though lower than the regional average, is higher than the national average. Georgians also report lower prevalence of depressive disorder than the national and regional averages. Among preventive behaviors, the influenza vaccination (flu shot) rate in Georgia is significantly lower than both national and regional averages. Among child health issues, Georgia children have a higher prevalence of asthma than the national and regional averages. Obesity among Georgia children, though lower than the regional average, is significantly higher than the national average.
Adults in Georgia who self-identified as Asian have a significantly lower prevalence of high cholesterol, hypertension, and obesity than their counterparts at both the national and regional levels. Conversely, prevalence rates of asthma, COPD, and current smoking for adults in Georgia who self-identified as Asian are significantly higher than their counterparts. Prevalence rates of noncommunicable diseases among adults in Georgia who self-identify as Hispanic are lower than adults who are not Hispanic at both the national and regional levels. Prevalence of childhood obesity among children identified as Hispanic, in contrast, is significantly higher than their out-of-state counterparts.
Data for chronic conditions, non-communicable diseases, behavioral health, communicable diseases, and preventive health, were obtained from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for all topics except for hypertension and high cholesterol. Data for these two conditions are collected every other year, thus data from the 2019 BRFSS were used. Data for child health was obtained from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Data was pooled from the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 waves of the NSCH for analysis.
Our sample size for respective topics are as follows:
|
Topic |
GA |
Southeast |
United States |
|
High Cholesterol |
7,272 |
86,470 |
405,293 |
|
Hypertension |
7,321 |
87,152 |
408,263 |
|
Obesity |
8,072 |
69,438 |
353,841 |
|
Arthritis |
9,036 |
76,173 |
392,578 |
|
Asthma |
9,054 |
76,348 |
393,477 |
|
Cancer |
9,053 |
76,358 |
393,662 |
|
CVD |
9,080 |
76,544 |
394,522 |
|
COPD |
9,027 |
76,181 |
392,902 |
|
Diabetes |
9,062 |
76,454 |
394,038 |
|
Alcohol - Heavy Drinking |
8,222 |
70,963 |
364,460 |
|
Depressive Disorder |
9,040 |
76,205 |
392,752 |
|
Tobacco - Smoking |
8,431 |
72,695 |
373,875 |
|
HIV Risk Behaviors |
7,935 |
41,068 |
357,220 |
|
Physically Active |
9,068 |
76,458 |
394,153 |
|
Breast Cancer Screening |
3,606 |
31,542 |
153,822 |
|
Colorectal Cancer Screening |
5,746 |
50,801 |
252,756 |
|
Flu Vaccination |
8,302 |
71,937 |
369,318 |
|
Child Health - Asthma |
3,215 |
38,614 |
172,850 |
|
Child Health - Nutritious Meals |
3,157 |
38,128 |
170,949 |
|
Child Health - Obesity |
1,693 |
19,811 |
87,183 |
BRFSS reports household income in eight categories. The percentage of income in relation to the federal poverty level (FPL) is determined as follows: Suppose a respondent’s household income is reported as $20,000 to $24,999. The midpoint of this category, $22,500, was considered as the imputed income level. The family size was determined by adding the number of children and number of adults in the household. For a family size of four (for example, two children and two adults), the federal poverty level threshold in 2020 was $26,200 (except for Alaska and Hawaii). The income to poverty level ratio for this household would be ($22,500/$26,200) × 100% or 85.88%.
Citation for methodology: Hest R. Four Methods for Calculating Income as a Percent of the Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG) in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). State Health Access Data Assistance Center. 2019 May.
Prevalence rates were estimated using complex survey weights of the BRFSS and NSCH. The differences across Georgia and rest of U.S. or rest of the Southeast region were assessed using survey-weight adjusted Wald tests. Level of significance was set at the 10% level. The Southeast region consists of the following 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Three-year moving average estimates were used to produce trend graphs for their respective conditions. For example, the data point for 2016 in the trend graph is the average of prevalence rates in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Similarly, the data point for 2020 in the trend graph is the average of prevalence rates in 2018, 2019, and 2020. For hypertension and high cholesterol, for which data are available every other year, the prevalence rate for the missing year was imputed by taking the average of the preceding and succeeding years. For example, the prevalence rate of 2018 was imputed by averaging the prevalence rates of 2017 and 2019.
The conditions were self-reported in the BRFSS and NSCH. The 2020 waves of the surveys were conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence, the estimates could differ from those in pre-pandemic years.
