3 IN 10 CALIFORNIA SENIORS REPORT POOR OR FAIR HEALTH.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Three in 10 Californians age 65 and over are in poor or fair health, numbers that were reflected among Los Angeles County and Ventura County seniors, according to a report being released today by UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research.

About 30 percent of 10,000 older Californians told surveyors that their health is fair or poor - versus good, very good or excellent - numbers slightly higher than the national average of 26 percent reporting poor or fair health.

Health difficulties more frequently tarnish the golden years of California Latinos and seniors with limited-English proficiency.

Nearly 45 percent of the state's older Latinos and 46 percent of seniors with limited-English abilities report poor or fair health. Both groups report higher rates of diabetes and emotional difficulties, lower rates of screening procedures and preventive services, and less-generous health insurance.

``Most older persons are working to maintain their health by following recommended schedules for cancer screenings, obtaining flu shots, not smoking and taking medicines for chronic conditions,'' said lead author Steven P. Wallace, associate director of the center and professor of community health plans at the UCLA School of Public Health. ``Yet some groups, such as Latinos, have more health problems than average and obtain fewer preventive services.''

Of seniors surveyed in Ventura County, 33 percent reported poor or fair health, 9 percent had diabetes, 58 percent had hypertension, 28 percent had heart disease, 52 percent reported arthritis and 48 percent said they did not have a lot of energy at least most of the time.

In Los Angeles County, 33 percent of seniors reported poor or fair health, 17 percent reported having diabetes, 54 percent had hypertension, 22 percent had heart disease, 49 percent had arthritis, and 27 percent did not feel calm or peaceful at least most of the past month.

Wallace said he was most surprised that half of African-Americans in the county had not received flu shots in the past year, compared with one-third of seniors overall in the county.

``If you start looking at the African-American population in the county, that is a population that has worse health outcomes, higher levels of diabetes, more arthritis, higher obesity, more people that smoke and lower levels of health care,'' Wallace said.

While 41 percent of African-Americans in the county reported poor or fair health, 48 percent of Latinos reported poor or fair health.

``About a quarter of African-American elderly are diabetics and right behind them are Latinos,'' Wallace said. ``The non-Latino whites are at about 13 percent. That is a condition that is very sensitive to medical care. If you can help an older person manage their diabetes, they are able to live a long and healthy life. If it's not well managed, you get blindness, amputation due to circulatory problems and it often leads to heart failure.''

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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HEALTH OF SENIORS

SOURCE: UCLA Center for Health Policy Research