Utah has some of the lowest rates in the nation for various diseases and health issues, according to a recent study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Utah has the lowest mortality rate in the nation, at 45 deaths per 100,000.

The heart disease rate in Utah is also the lowest in the nation, at 192 deaths per 100,000.

The state has the second-lowest cancer rate in the nation and Utah's stroke rate is below the national average, according to the report.

Some of the factors responsible for such low rates for these diseases are lifestyle habits practiced by many Utahns, such as low alcohol consumption and low smoking rates, said Byron Murray, a professor in the biology department and a disease specialist.

Only 12.9 percent of Utah's population smokes, the lowest smoking rate in the nation, and the rate of alcohol consumption is also among the lowest in the country, according to the study.

"There are two things people need to do to lower their chances of getting cancer," said Kim O'Neill, a cancer specialist and professor of micro and molecular biology at BYU. "Stop smoking and eat a good diet of fruits and vegetables."

Byron said that because a large percentage of Utah residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and adhere to the church's dietary suggestions, this probably influences the lower cancer and heart disease rates.

"We probably eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat than people in other areas, which also lowers the rates," Byron said.

Even obesity rates in Utah are the lowest in the nation, according to the study. Forty-nine percent of Utahns are overweight or obese, while the national average is 55 percent.

Not all disease rates are low in Utah, though. Utah has the fifth highest diabetes rate. Thirty-two of 100,000 Utahns die each year from diabetes, compared with a national average of 25 per 100,000.

The percentage of Utah's children that receive their childhood immunizations is also low, coming in 45th in the nation. Only 68 percent of Utah's children have received their childhood immunizations, compared with 73 percent nationally.

Data for the study was gathered from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Copyright Brigham Young University 16 Sep 2002