Key Findings 

APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY 

HEALTH 

DISPARITIES

1 

MORTALITY 

Heart Disease Deaths 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s heart disease mortality rate is 

45 percent higher than the national rate and 32 percent 

higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Cancer Deaths 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s cancer mortality rate is 35 

percent higher than the national rate and 18 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian 

Kentucky. 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Deaths 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s COPD mortality rate is 88 percent higher than the national rate and 38 

percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Injury Deaths 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s injury mortality rate is 103 percent higher than the national rate and 60 

percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky.

Stroke Deaths 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s stroke mortality rate is 26 percent higher than the national rate and 14 

percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Diabetes Deaths 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s diabetes mortality rate is 32 percent higher than the national rate and 

12 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Years of Potential Life Lost 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s YPLL rate is 63 percent higher than the national rate and 34 percent 

higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

MORBIDITY 

Physically Unhealthy Days 

 The average adult in Appalachian Kentucky reports feeling physically unhealthy 47 percent 

more often than the average American and 23 percent more often than the average adult in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 

Mentally Unhealthy Days 

 The average adult in Appalachian Kentucky reports feeling mentally unhealthy 25 percent more 

often than the average American and 15 percent more often than the average adult in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 

 APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY
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HEALTH IN APPALACHIA Key Findings | APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY

2 

HIV Prevalence 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s HIV rate is 82 percent lower than the national rate and 69 percent 

lower than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Diabetes Prevalence 

 The prevalence of diabetes in Appalachian Kentucky is 13.3 percent, a mark higher than the 9.8 

percent experienced by the nation as a whole, and the 11.2 percent experienced in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 

Obesity Prevalence 

 The prevalence of adult obesity is 35.2 percent in Appalachian Kentucky, a mark higher than 

the 27.4 percent experienced in the nation as a whole, and the 31.2 percent experienced in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 

Depression Prevalence 

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

Kentucky is 18.4 percent, compared to 15.4 percent for the United States as a whole and 18.0 

percent for non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Suicide Incidence 

 The suicide rate in Appalachian Kentucky is 19 percent higher than the national rate, and 3 

percent lower than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Excessive Drinking 

 The percentage of adults reporting excessive drinking in Appalachian Kentucky (11.1 percent) 

is lower than in the nation as a whole (17.7 percent), and lower than the percentage in nonAppalachian Kentucky (13.6). 

Poisoning Deaths 

 The poisoning mortality rate in Appalachian Kentucky is 141 percent higher than the national 

rate, and 68 percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Opioid Prescription Rates 

 Of all Medicare prescription claims in Appalachian Kentucky, 5.7 percent are for opioids, 

compared to 5.3 percent in the United States as a whole, and 5.8 percent in non-Appalachian 

Kentucky. 

CHILD HEALTH 

Infant Mortality 

 The infant mortality rate is 21 percent higher in Appalachian Kentucky than in the nation as a 

whole, and 10 percent higher than in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

 
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HEALTH IN APPALACHIA Key Findings | APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY

3 

Low Birth Weight Incidence 

 The incidence of low birth weight in Appalachian Kentucky is 9.9 percent of all newborns, a 

higher percentage than both the national average of 8.1 percent, and the non-Appalachian 

Kentucky average of 8.6. 

Teen Birth Rate 

 The teen birth rate in Appalachian Kentucky is 68 percent higher than the national rate and 34 

percent higher than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS 

Average Travel Time to Work 

 The average travel time to work in Appalachian Kentucky is 24.7 minutes, which is lower than 

the national average of 25.7 minutes, and higher than the average in non-Appalachian Kentucky 

of 22.3 minutes. 

Grocery Store Availability 

 There are 14 percent more grocery stores per 1,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky than 

in the United States as a whole, and 41 percent more than in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Student-Teacher Ratio 

 Appalachian Kentucky’s student-teacher ratio is 15.4, which is a lower (better) ratio than the 

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

of 16.5. 

LIFESTYLE 

Physical Inactivity 

 In Appalachian Kentucky, 32.8 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 27.1 percent 

reported in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Smoking 

 In Appalachian Kentucky, 25.9 percent of all adults report being cigarette smokers, a figure 

higher than the 16.3 percent at the national level, and the 22.0 percent in non-Appalachian 

Kentucky. 

Chlamydia Rate 

 Chlamydia incidence in Appalachian Kentucky is 48 percent lower than the national average, 

and 49 percent lower than the average in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS 

Primary Care Physicians 

 The supply of primary care physicians per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 26 

percent lower than the national average, and 21 percent lower than the average in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 
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HEALTH IN APPALACHIA Key Findings | APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY

4 

Mental Health Providers 

 The supply of mental health providers per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 7 

percent lower than the national average, and 6 percent higher than the average in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 

Specialty Physicians 

 The supply of specialty physicians per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 59 

percent lower than the national average, and 60 percent lower than the average in nonAppalachian Kentucky. 

Dentists 

 The supply of dentists per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 37 percent lower 

than the national average, and 42 percent lower than the average in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Uninsured Population 

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

18.6 percent, which is higher (worse) than the national average of 16.8 percent, and the nonAppalachian Kentucky average of 16.2 percent. 

Heart Disease Hospitalizations 

 Hospitalization rates for heart disease in Appalachian Kentucky are 48 percent higher than the 

national average, and 20 percent higher than the average in non-Appalachian Kentucky.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalizations 

 Hospitalization rates for COPD in Appalachian Kentucky are 76 percent higher than the 

national average, and 32 percent higher than the average in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

QUALITY OF CARE 

Electronic Prescribing 

 Electronic prescribing is less common in Appalachian Kentucky (56.1 percent of prescriptions) 

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

Kentucky (66.6 percent of prescriptions). 

Mammogram Screenings 

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

Appalachian Kentucky is lower than the percentage at the national level. In Appalachian 

Kentucky, 52.2 percent of Medicare-covered women ages 67 to 69 have had a recent 

mammogram, compared to the 62.1 percent reported in the nation as a whole, and the 61.7 

percent in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Diabetes Monitoring 

 Diabetes monitoring among Medicare patients in Appalachian Kentucky (84.8 percent) is 

comparable to monitoring among Medicare patients in the United States as a whole (84.7 

percent), and lower than in non-Appalachian Kentucky (86.5 percent). 
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HEALTH IN APPALACHIA Key Findings | APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY

5 

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS 

Median Household Income 

 The median household income in Appalachian Kentucky is 40 percent less than the national 

median, and 31 percent less than the median income in non-Appalachian Kentucky.

Poverty 

 The household poverty rate is 26.7 percent in Appalachian Kentucky, a figure higher than the 

national rate of 15.6 percent, and the 16.3 percent in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Disability 

 The percentage of people receiving disability benefits is higher in Appalachian Kentucky (14.3 

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

(6.8 percent). 

Education 

 In Appalachian Kentucky, 48.4 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 61.8 percent 

in non-Appalachian Kentucky. 

Social Associations 

 The social association rate in Appalachian Kentucky is 9 percent lower than the rate found in 

the nation as a whole, and 25 percent lower than the rate in non-Appalachian Kentucky.