A.V. HAS COUNTY'S WORST ASTHMA RATES REPORT STUDIES CHRONIC CONDITIONS, HEALTH CARE ACCESS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - Children and adults in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley suffer the highest rates of asthma in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new report from the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX Center for Health Policy Research. Of the five chronic conditions the report surveyed, more than 46 percent of Antelope Valley adults suffer one or more, compared with 46.6 percent countywide and 45.2 percent statewide. ``The Antelope Valley is sort of an interesting situation. It's between South L.A., which is the worst, and West L.A., which is the best,'' said Steven Wallace, professor and associate director at the UCLA center. ``There are some indicators where the Antelope Valley does quite poorly. The most notable one is the asthma rate for kids, which is the worst in Los Angeles County. There are some indicators where they come out among the best. It's good news and bad news.'' The report, ``Chronic Conditions of Californians,'' is based on data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey and offers a profile of children and adults suffering from heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and fair or poor health status. The report supplies figures for every county in the state and eight regions in Los Angeles County: the Antelope Valley, east Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. County, downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. , South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. , the South Bay area, and west Los Angeles
The report also presented socioeconomic and demographic profiles of those with chronic conditions, and figures problems and potential barriers to accessing health care. Among the eight regions in Los Angeles County, Antelope Valley ranked fourth from the bottom in the percentage of adults with chronic health problems. Thirty-eight percent of Antelope Valley adults had problems accessing health care services, compared with 33.7 percent in the county and 32.1 percent statewide. Only the downtown Los Angeles area had a worse rate, at 39.7 percent. The rate reflects people who experienced a delay in accessing health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract or had no usual source of care, the report said. The report said 43.1 percent of Antelope Valley adults had problems such as lacking health insurance, were not native English speakers, or were low-income, all possible barriers to health care access. In that category, the Antelope Valley scored high, second only to the west Los Angeles County area, which scored at 31.4 percent. Overall, 33.6 percent of adults living in the Antelope Valley were low-income, compared with 39.4 percent in the county and 33.9 percent in the state. A total of 18.4 percent were on Medi-Cal, compared with 14.7 percent in the county and 13.5 percent statewide; and 13.9 percent were 65 and over, compared with 14.5 percent countywide and 14.7 percent in the state. More than 40 percent of Antelope Valley children were low-income; 17.4 percent had parents who spoke limited English; and 35.7 percent were on Medi-Cal. A total of 22.2 percent of children in the Antelope Valley have chronic health conditions - mostly asthma - compared with 21.3 percent in the county and 21.7 percent in the state. The rate of Antelope Valley children with asthma was 17.5 percent, compared with 13.7 percent in the county and 14.7 percent in the state. A total of 14.5 percent of adults in the Antelope Valley were diagnosed with asthma, compared with 10.7 percent in the county and 11.8 percent statewide. A total of 8.3 percent of Antelope Valley adults suffer from heart disease, compared with 6.9 percent both countywide and statewide. A total of 23.1 percent of adults living in the Antelope Valley had hypertension; 5.1 percent had diabetes, second best to the west Los Angeles County area's rate of 4.1 percent; and 19.4 percent rated their own health as fair or poor. The report also identifies geographic areas that are experiencing the perfect storm of high rates of chronic conditions combined with problems accessing health services and barriers to health care access. Such areas include Kern, Madera and Merced counties, as well as the grouping of Colusa, Glenn and Tehama counties. Marin, San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , San Mateo and Santa Clara counties - as well as western Los Angeles County - show the lowest percentages of adults with chronic conditions as well as the fewest problems getting necessary medical care. |
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