Curt Hagman, Chairman of the Board of San Bernardino County
Curt Hagman Chairman's Message

Wellness

Chronic Disease

Highest Rates of Chronic Diseases Among Counties

Chronic diseases – including diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular (heart disease) – are costly yet largely preventable. Chronic illnesses contribute to approximately 70% of deaths in the United States each year and account for about 75% of the nation’s health-related costs.1 This indicator reports prevalence and death data for heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure/stroke. Also tracked are hospitalizations due to heart disease.

Highest Rates of Chronic Diseases Among Counties.

How is San Bernardino County Doing?

Heart Disease: Percentage Ever Diagnosed and Death Rates

San Bernardino County, 2007-2016
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* Data considered unstable and should be interpreted with caution. Sources: California Health Interview Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2016 on CDC WONDER Online Database (//wonder.cdc.gov/)

Between 2015 and 2016, both heart disease prevalence and deaths increased:

  • In 2016, San Bernardino County’s death rate due to heart disease was 185.7 age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 residents. This marks a decrease of 22% since 2007 but a one-year increase of 2%.
  • There has been an increase in the percentage of county residents who were diagnosed with heart disease – from 6.5% in 2007 to 8.2% in 2016.2
  • In 2016, San Bernardino County’s prevalence rate for heart disease was the highest among neighboring counties and the state.

Diabetes: Percentage Ever Diagnosed and Death Rates

San Bernardino County, 2007-2016
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Diabetes prevalence and deaths are on the rise:

  • In 2016, 11.4% of adults in San Bernardino County had been diagnosed with diabetes, higher than all counties compared and California.
  • This marks an increase from 2015, when diabetes prevalence was 10.2%.
  • The long-term trend is also up, with an increase of more than two percentage points since 2007, when 9.2% of adults in the county had a diabetes diagnosis.
  • At 33.2 age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 residents in 2016, San Bernardino County had the state’s third highest rate of deaths due to diabetes, behind only Imperial and Kern counties, respectively.
  • Deaths due to diabetes increased slightly from 32.9 in 2015 to 33.2 in 2016. The longer-term trend is also upward, increasing 8% since 2007.

High Blood Pressure: Percentage Ever Diagnosed and Death Rates due to Stroke

San Bernardino County, 2007-2016
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Between 2015 and 2016, high blood pressure prevalence and deaths due to stroke increased:

  • In 2016, 31.1% of adults in San Bernardino County had high blood pressure, higher than all counties compared and California.
  • This marks an increase of more than half a percentage point since 2015, when 30.5% of adults had high blood pressure.
  • Of adults diagnosed with high blood pressure, 56% are taking medications to control it.
  • Deaths due to strokes, which are associated with high blood pressure, have decreased 14% since 2007.3

Percentage Ever Diagnosed with Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, or Heart Disease

County Comparison, 2016
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* Data considered unstable and should be interpreted with caution. Source: California Health Interview Survey

Hospitalizations due to Coronary Heart Disease

In 2017, the hospitalization rate for heart disease in San Bernardino County was 86.6 per 10,000 residents (age-adjusted). This is significantly higher than the California hospitalization rate of 69.5 per 10,000 residents.

Note: This report presents longitudinal data for hospitalizations using 2008-2017 Census (ACS) population estimates. The San Bernardino County Community Transformation Plan also presents data related to heart disease hospitalizations. Because that plan presents a one-year snapshot for 2012, using 2010 Census population, the rates are not directly comparable.

Heart Disease Hospitalizations (Age-Adjusted Rate per 10,000)

San Bernardino County, 2008-2017
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Source: California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates (2008-2017)
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/overview/index.htm) 2Prevalence of San Bernardino County residents who have been diagnosed with a heart disease is considered unstable for 2016. Thus, caution should be taken when interpreting the data. 3Fully 70% of strokes can be directly linked to existing high blood pressure, making high blood pressure the single most important controllable stroke risk factor.