Key Findings 

 APPALACHIAN TENNESSEE 

HEALTH 

DISPARITIES

1 

MORTALITY 

Heart Disease Deaths 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s heart disease mortality 

rate is 21 percent higher than the national rate 

and the same as the rate in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee. 

Cancer Deaths 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s cancer mortality rate is 14 percent higher than the national rate and 

the same as the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Deaths 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s COPD mortality rate is 38 percent higher than the national rate and 

20 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Injury Deaths 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s injury mortality rate is 48 percent higher than the national rate and 16 

percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee.

Stroke Deaths 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s stroke mortality rate is 18 percent higher than the national rate and 9 

percent lower than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Diabetes Deaths 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s diabetes mortality rate is 18 percent higher than the national rate and 

1 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Years of Potential Life Lost 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s YPLL rate is 39 percent higher than the national rate and 13 percent 

higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

MORBIDITY 

Physically Unhealthy Days 

 The average adult in Appalachian Tennessee reports feeling mentally unhealthy 31 percent 

more often than the average American and 7 percent more often than the average adult in nonAppalachian Tennessee. 

 

APPALACHIAN TENNESSEE
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Mentally Unhealthy Days 

 The average adult in Appalachian Tennessee reports feeling mentally unhealthy 28 percent 

more often than the average American and 5 percent more often than the average adult in nonAppalachian Tennessee. 

HIV Prevalence 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s HIV rate is 60 percent lower than the national rate and 67 percent 

lower than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Diabetes Prevalence 

 The prevalence of diabetes in Appalachian Tennessee is 13.0 percent, a mark higher than the 

9.8 percent experienced by the nation as a whole, and the 11.8 percent experienced in nonAppalachian Tennessee. 

Obesity Prevalence 

 The prevalence of adult obesity is 31.6 percent in Appalachian Tennessee, a mark higher than 

the 27.4 percent experienced in the nation as a whole, and the 32.7 percent experienced in nonAppalachian Tennessee. 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 

Depression Prevalence 

 The prevalence of depression among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in Appalachian 

Tennessee is 17.7 percent, compared to 15.4 percent for the United States as a whole and 15.9 

percent for non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Suicide Incidence 

 The suicide rate in Appalachian Tennessee is 32 percent higher than the national rate, and 22 

percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Excessive Drinking 

 The percentage of adults reporting excessive drinking in Appalachian Tennessee (11.7 percent) 

is lower than in the nation as a whole (17.7 percent), and lower than the percentage in nonAppalachian Tennessee (12.3). 

Poisoning Deaths 

 The poisoning mortality rate in Appalachian Tennessee is 54 percent higher than the national 

rate, and 46 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Opioid Prescription Rates 

 Of all Medicare prescription claims in Appalachian Tennessee, 7.2 percent are for opioids, 

compared to 5.3 percent in the United States as a whole, and 6.5 percent in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee. 
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CHILD HEALTH 

Infant Mortality 

 The infant mortality rate is 13 percent higher in Appalachian Tennessee than in the nation as a 

whole, and 12 percent lower than in non-Appalachian Tennessee.

Low Birth Weight Incidence 

 The incidence of low birth weight in Appalachian Tennessee is 8.9 percent of all newborns, a 

higher percentage than the national average of 8.1 percent, and slightly lower than the nonAppalachian Tennessee average of 9.2 percent. 

Teen Birth Rate 

 The teen birth rate in Appalachian Tennessee is 28 percent higher than the national rate and 1 

percent lower than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS 

Average Travel Time to Work 

 The average travel time to work in Appalachian Tennessee is 23.7 minutes, which is lower than 

the national average of 25.7 minutes, and lower than the average in non-Appalachian Tennessee 

of 25.0 minutes. 

Grocery Store Availability 

 There are 14 percent fewer grocery stores per 1,000 population in Appalachian Tennessee than 

in the United States as a whole, and the same as in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Student-Teacher Ratio 

 Appalachian Tennessee’s student-teacher ratio is 14.9, which is a lower (better) ratio than the 

national average of 16.5, and a lower (better) ratio than the non-Appalachian Tennessee 

average of 15.2. 

LIFESTYLE 

Physical Inactivity 

 In Appalachian Tennessee, 34.2 percent of people report being physically inactive, a figure 

higher than the 23.1 percent reported in the United States as a whole and the 30.6 percent 

reported in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Smoking 

 In Appalachian Tennessee, 22.5 percent of all adults report being cigarette smokers, a figure 

higher than the 16.3 percent at the national level, and the 21.8 percent in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee. 

Chlamydia Rate 

 Chlamydia incidence in Appalachian Tennessee is 27 percent lower than the national average, 

and 45 percent lower than the average in non-Appalachian Tennessee.
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HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS 

Primary Care Physicians 

 The supply of primary care physicians per 100,000 population in Appalachian Tennessee is the 

same as the national average, and 8 percent higher than the average in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee. 

Mental Health Providers 

 The supply of mental health providers per 100,000 population in Appalachian Tennessee is 34 

percent lower than the national average, and 1 percent higher than the average in nonAppalachian Tennessee. 

Specialty Physicians 

 The supply of specialty physicians per 100,000 population in Appalachian Tennessee is 20 

percent lower than the national average, and 27 percent lower than the average in nonAppalachian Tennessee. 

Dentists 

 The supply of dentists per 100,000 population in Appalachian Tennessee is 28 percent lower 

than the national average, and 14 percent lower than the average in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee. 

Uninsured Population 

 The percentage of the population under age 65 that is uninsured in Appalachian Tennessee is 

16.3 percent, which is lower (better) than the national average of 16.8 percent, and about the 

same as the non-Appalachian Tennessee average of 16.2 percent. 

Heart Disease Hospitalizations 

 Hospitalization rates for heart disease in Appalachian Tennessee are 10 percent higher than the 

national average, and 6 percent lower than the average in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalizations 

 Hospitalization rates for COPD in Appalachian Tennessee are 34 percent higher than the 

national average, and 23 percent higher than the average in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

QUALITY OF CARE 

Electronic Prescribing 

 Electronic prescribing is less common in Appalachian Tennessee (54.7 percent of prescriptions) 

than in the nation as a whole (65.8 percent), and less common than in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee (64.5 percent of prescriptions). 

Mammogram Screenings 

 The percentage of Medicare-covered women undergoing mammogram screenings in 

Appalachian Tennessee is higher than the percentage at the national level. In Appalachian 

Tennessee, 63.1 percent of Medicare-covered women ages 67 to 69 have had a recent 
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mammogram, compared to the 62.1 percent reported in the nation as a whole, and the 61.4 

percent in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Diabetes Monitoring 

 Diabetes monitoring is higher among Medicare patients in Appalachian Tennessee (87.3 percent) 

than among Medicare patients in the United States as a whole (84.7 percent), and among 

Medicare patients in non-Appalachian Tennessee (85.8 percent). 

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS 

Median Household Income 

 The median household income in Appalachian Tennessee is 25 percent less than the national 

median, and 15 percent less than the median income in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Poverty 

 The household poverty rate is 18.6 percent in Appalachian Tennessee, a figure higher than the 

national rate of 15.6 percent, and slightly higher than the 18.1 percent in non-Appalachian 

Tennessee. 

Disability 

 The percentage of people receiving disability benefits is higher in Appalachian Tennessee (7.6 

percent) than in the United States as a whole (5.1 percent) and in non-Appalachian Tennessee 

(5.8 percent). 

Education 

 In Appalachian Tennessee, 53.5 percent of adults ages 25 to 44 have some type of postsecondary education, compared to the 63.3 percent in the nation as a whole and the 60.6 percent 

in non-Appalachian Tennessee. 

Social Associations 

 The social association rate in Appalachian Tennessee is 32 percent higher than the rate found in 

the nation as a whole, and 13 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Tennessee.