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Drug overdoses and road injuries are the major cause of death for young people in San Benito County, a Public Health Department report states.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors received an annual presentation on the county’s morbidity and mortality rates during a Nov. 21 meeting. According to the Public Health report, cardiovascular related deaths are declining, but injury deaths have risen from 2019 to 2021.
Premature deaths were measured in potential lives lost, meaning there is an expectation that people would live to 75, Janel Obenchain, an epidemiologist for the county, said Dec. 29. For example, if a person died at 25, that is 50 years of potential life lost, she said.
Obenchain equated drug overdose deaths to 800 years of potential life lost.
For young people, diabetes and colon and rectal cancers are emerging causes of death of concern, Obenchain told the Nov. 21 presentation.
“We’ve learned from public health over the past few decades, that social conditions contribute significantly to both healthy and adverse outcomes,” she said.
Socioeconomic factors such as income, education and employment make up 40% of health disparities; smoking, drinking, diet and exercise make up 30%; access to health care makes up 20% and physical environment makes up 10%, she said.
Along with drug overdoses and road injuries, premature death is caused by alcohol, cancerous turmors, COVID-19 and ischemic heart disease, which happens when blood flow is reduced and weakens the heart.
The State Budget Act of 2022 set aside funds, known as the Future of Public Health Funding, for local health jurisdictions to expand the public health workforce and reduce health disparities.
The Future of Public Health Grant awarded San Benito County $647,267 for four fiscal years starting 2022-23 based on the county’s population, poverty level and race/ethnicity, according to a county staff report.
Local health jurisdictions receiving funds from the program must present annual updates on morbidity and mortality rates; causes of morbidity and mortality and health disparities to the Board of Supervisors.
The report also included data on COVID-19, stroke and Alzheimer’s death rates.
From 2020 to 2022, Latinos died of COVID-19 at four times the rate of whites, Obenchain said.
Currently, the county demographics include 58% Latinos, 37% white, 2% Asian, 2% multiracial and 1% Black, according to the report.
“COVID really highlights these health disparities, but it’s not the only example of health disparities,” Obenchain said.
Latinos died of a stroke at 1.5 times compared to whites and died of Alzheimer’s disease at 1.3 times compared to whites, the report said.
Next steps for the department include using data from Community Health Assessment and Health Improvement Plan to develop a public health strategic plan in 2024; using data and partnerships to develop a stronger public health delivery and improve community health, the report states.
One public comment was made.
Elia Salinas asked about the kind of outreach to educate the public on the department and the project.
Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki asked about the decline of cardiovascular deaths.
Obenchain said there are various factors that may be declining cardiovascular deaths including diet and exercise.
Air quality could also be a factor, Public Health Officer Cheryl Scott added.
Supervisor Angela Curro was impressed by the decline in cardiovascular deaths and said it was an “amazing rate for San Benito County.”
Supervisor Dom Zanger asked why the disparities for Latinos was so high for COVID deaths.
“This is a national disparity,” Scott said. “We are seeing, and from what we’ve learned, from COVID is that there are a lot of social conditions throughout the U.S. that contributed to Latinos and other vulnerable, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic communities that did much worse during COVID.”
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