Seniors' health declines in state

Felicitas Conde, 60, loves to walk.

But in her South Los Angeles neighborhood, Conde said she is too scared to use the sidewalk or to go to the park to exercise. A robber several years ago forced her off the bicycle she was riding and stole it.

At the local supermarket, she longs for fresh fruits -- persimmons, plantains, strawberries. She is particularly attracted to the small, plastic boxes of fresh blueberries.

"I know they are good for your health," Conde said, "but they are too expensive." She can only afford radishes and onions.

Conde has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and weighs too much. If her health does not improve significantly by the time she turns 65, Conde will join a growing number of older Californians whose health is threatened by chronic conditions.

Three out of five seniors in California had high blood pressure in 2005, up from half in 2001. Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, Tulare and Yolo counties all saw statistically significant increases in high blood pressure, according to a UCLA study released Thursday.

"If those trends continue . . . we're going to come up against a wall as to what medicine can do to keep these people alive," said Steven P. Wallace, a UCLA professor of public health and coauthor of the report based on the California Health Interview Survey, which polls about 50,000 households across the state every two years.

The study found that significant racial gaps remained.

Diabetes and obesity are nearly twice as high for older African Americans and Latinos than whites.

In addition, Asian American, black and Latino seniors were three times as likely to report difficulty getting enough to eat.

The numbers are worst in South Los Angeles and an eight-county area in the Central Valley, where one in four seniors reported being diagnosed with diabetes.

Statewide, one in six seniors has diabetes, which is the fifth most common cause of death among older adults in the U.S.

Tulare County in the Central Valley had the highest rate of hypertension, while South Los Angeles was a close second. In both locations, seven out of 10 residents reported high blood pressure.

The rising number of seniors reporting the chronic conditions has healthcare providers and experts concerned.