Although there was slight improvement over last year, Kentucky remains among the top 10 least healthy states in the U.S. according to a new report.

Kentucky ranked 43rd overall for health outcomes — up two spots from 45th in 2018 — according to an annual report from America’s Health Rankings.

The states that rank worse than Kentucky are Tennessee, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Mississippi ranked worst overall for health outcomes, while Vermont ranked best overall.

Other states in the top 10 for health include Massachusetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, Utah, New Hampshire, Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington and Colorado.

In the report, 35 markers of health associated with behavior, community and environment, as well as policy and clinical care are measured and ranked.

The report found Kentucky leads the nation in physical inactivity, preventable hospitalizations and cancer deaths.

Kentucky ranks 49th nationally in smoking rates and prevalence of days of frequent mental distress.

Additionally, Kentucky ranks 46th for drug deaths, 46th for obesity, 44th for child poverty, 44th for rates of diabetes, 45th for days of frequent physical distress and 47th for premature death.

Some key positive highlights from the report include:

— Kentucky ranks fourth highest for high school graduation rate with 89.7 percent of students graduating and ninth for number of uninsured.

— Since 2010, the percentage of the population without health insurance decreased 66 percent from 16.1 percent to 5.5 percent

— In the past two years, mental health providers increased 17 percent from 194.6 to 227.5 per 100,000 population

Some other highlights for Kentucky from the report include:

— Since 2012, obesity increased 20 percent from 30.4 percent to 36.6 percent of adults

— In the past 10 years, drug deaths increased 96 percent from 16.4 to 32.2 deaths per 100,000 population

— In the past three years, frequent mental distress increased 21 percent from 13.8 percent to 16.7 percent of adults

— In the past four years, diabetes increased 10 percent from 12.5 percent to 13.7 percent of adults

— Kentucky reported 32.2 drug deaths per 100,000 population in 2019, up fro 28.6 in 2018 and 25.5 in 2017.

The full report can be accessed at americashealthrankings.org.

These ratings indicate Kentuckians are among the least mentally and physically healthy people in the U.S.

State legislators and health officials should develop and implement policies with these figures in mind.

One critical aspect of improving the state’s health will be ensuring residents maintain access to health insurance, which will continue to improve access to care. Kentucky has made great strides in recent years in this area, evidenced by this report.

Without access to health care, Kentuckians will continue to fall behind the rest of the country in areas of health and wellbeing.

The health of the state’s residents is critical to our success in many ways. A healthy population means a healthier workforce, which can attract more businesses and industries to our state. Healthier children will be able to take better advantage of education opportunities. Improved health will reduce medical costs for the individual and the state.

Improving our state’s health rankings will not be an easy task.

The state will need continue taking a multi-faceted approach to fighting the drug epidemic, working with public health agencies, hospitals, schools, law enforcement, churches and treatment programs.

We will also need to continue looking at policies and legislation that will reduce tobacco use.

It is past time to find ways to improve access to care for diabetics. Education about how to live with diabetes and prevent it will also be critical.

Likewise, improving access to mental health care and removing the stigma about mental illness with education campaigns will also be critical.

While we never like to see our state rank at the bottom of anything, it’s really not about the numbers.

Most importantly, we want to see our community and our neighbors healthier in all facets — physically, mentally, financially, etc.

Kentucky is a beautiful place to live and is full of potential. Our state can’t reach its greatest potential if its people are dying too early, suffering mentally and physically and falling behind in so many other ways.

Editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board. The board is comprised of publisher Michael Caldwell and Bluegrass Newsmedia editors Whitney Leggett and Ben Kleppinger. To inquire about a meeting with the board, contact Caldwell at 759-0095.