just one reason why the Central Valley is damned depressing

[cassidyrose]

Health is bad in valley
January 15, 2003 Posted: 05:05:11 AM PST

By KEN CARLSON
BEE STAFF WRITER
San Joaquin Valley children are more likely than anyone else in the state to suffer from chronic asthma.

Moreover, smoking cigarettes and heavy drinking are more prevalent in the Central Valley than in other regions.

Young adults in the valley are at higher risk of contracting chlamydia, the state's fastest-growing sexually transmitted disease.

And poor families in the valley are not tapping low-cost immunizations, dental care and health insurance because they are uninformed about the programs.

Those are just some of the findings of a Great Valley Center study that focuses on health in the Central Valley.

Richard Cummings, a spokesman for the Modesto-based center, said the study provides a comprehensive look at health problems in the region from Redding to Bakersfield, an area where more than one in four children live in poverty.

...

Health officials have tracked the valley's asthma phenomenon for several years, variously linking it to smog and agricultural dust.

But local agencies and interest groups have disagreed on what to do about it.

Although asthma is more prevalent in Merced and Fresno counties, its occurrence in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties is above the state average.

Maybe, just maybe the asthma has something to do with the rampant crop-dusting that was common practice through the early nineties. I grew up "in town" but near many orchards and crop dusters dusted within blocks of my family's home.

Comments

[fluzby.livejournal.com]

My sister had horrible problems with asthma when she lived in Modesto. She went to do her basic training in South Carolina and her asthma problems almost completely disappeared.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

And I thought LA was bad. Sheesh. And I bet they mostly vote republican and have environmentalists.