Presence of and Change in Self-Reported Chronic Disease in White Appalachian Adults Compared to White Adults in the Greater Cincinnati Region, 2005–2013

Abstract

Abstract The Appalachian region has been identified as an area with health challenges, including higher mortality, reduced health care access, and poor health outcomes. However, the literature is lacking a randomly designed population-based survey that examines health issues in this population over time. The Greater Cincinnati Community Health Survey (CHSS), a random-digit dial telephone survey, included questions about chronic disease prevalence over an eight-year period in twenty-two counties surrounding Cincinnati, Ohio. The CHSS also identified Appalachian adults using a place-based method (respondent or parent born in an Appalachian county). This paper presents the self-reported prevalence of ten chronic conditions in the white Appalachian population in the survey region compared to the non-Appalachian population: asthma, cancer, chronic lung disease, diabetes, heart trouble or angina, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or triglycerides, stroke, severe allergies, and depression. The results show a persistent pattern of Appalachian adults with poorer health than their non-Appalachian counterparts: in 2013 significantly more Appalachians than non-Appalachians reported being told they had high blood pressure, depression, asthma, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease, and stroke. By collecting multiple years of data, we can see trends over time. For some conditions, the self-reported disease status of Appalachian adults has improved since 2005, though the improvement was statistically significant only for high cholesterol. For asthma, cancer, chronic lung disease, diabetes, and stroke, Appalachian self-reported disease status has significantly worsened since 2005.

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