Expect robust gains from health study of the Valley

It has never been any dirty little secret that the collective health of the Mahoning Valley ranks disturbingly low when compared with many other areas of the state and nation.

After all, the incidence of heart disease, cancer, infant mortality and other potentially serious and fatal illnesses in our region too often rank above average grid lines. In fact, a 2017 study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute places the Mahoning Valley near the basement of optimal health conditions. In its study of all 88 counties in Ohio, Trumbull County ranks 61st and Mahoning County comes in at a lowly 71st place in overall health of residents, figures that reflect slight improvements over 2016 levels.

The data, however, also serve as a poignant reminder of the ongoing need for any and all initiatives to promote strong health, proper nutrition and adequate fitness in our community. To their credit, many public health boards and nonprofit health-centered agencies in the Valley have intensified campaigns in recent years to encourage healthful behaviors and to save lives.

Toward those ends, Mahoning County is indeed fortunate this summer to have landed a leading role in a national survey of Americans’ health. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set up shop in trailers outside of the Southern Park Mall in Boardman.

There, NHANES staff plans to interview about 500 selected county residents and give medical exams to as many of those people as agree to them. Those participants are part of a much larger network of 5,000 randomly selected people in 15 counties across the country for up close and personal research on the overall health and health risks in the United States.

Among the topics NHANES gathers information on are obesity, diabetes, nutrition, kidney disease, infectious diseases, oral health, physical fitness and functioning, sexual behavior and sexually transmitted diseases, environmental contaminant exposures and medications and dietary supplements.

We thank the CDC agency for selecting Mahoning County for the first time since the national survey program began after passage of the National Health Survey Act of 1956. We’re confident that, by summer’s end, both the new local recruits and the NHANES will gain valuable and productive insights.

Individual test subjects have much to gain. According to the NHANES, those taking part in the survey will find out more about their overall health and the health of their family than they ever would at a routine doctor’s visit. Participation can also lead to discovery of heretofore unknown health maladies that can then be recognized and treated.

On a broader plain, participation in the survey contributes to the creation of an up-to-date snapshot and database of America’s health. It provides a tangible gauge by which we can compare our nation’s physical condition with that of other countries across the globe. The study also can play important roles in creating and adopting public-health policies, directing and designing health programs and expanding health knowledge.

Data collected from the surveys have been instrumental in developing many health reforms and public-policy initiatives. A few examples include:

Growth charts: Survey findings led to the development of growth charts used by pediatricians and health clinics across the United States and around the world.

Vitamin and mineral fortification of food: Nutrient intake data derived the studies have pinpointed population groups at nutritional risk. For example, nutrient data from the first two NHANES studies indicated that certain segments of the U.S. population (women of childbearing age, young children and the elderly) were consuming inadequate amounts of iron. This information led to widespread fortification of grain and cereal products with iron.

Lead exposure: NHANES data provided the first concrete evidence that blood levels of lead among Americans were becoming dangerously high.

We’re confident that the 2017 survey also will produce similar significant and relevant results that will keep alive its reputation of improving the vital signs of Americans and of inching closer to the goal of upgrading the overall health of our nation and our community.