Health of California's seniors is deteriorating
A new UCLA study shows that high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic health problems have worsened among seniors in recent years, particularly in South L.A. and the Central Valley.
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 living in California had high blood pressure in 2005, up from half in 2001. Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Sacramento, Yolo, Madera, Merced, Tulare, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties all saw statistically significant increases in high blood pressure, according to a UCLA study released today.
"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 45,000 households across the state every two years.
The study found that significant racial gaps remained. Diabetes and obesity are nearly twice as high for Latinos and African Americans than other groups. In addition, seniors from those groups, as well as Asian Americans, were three times as likely to report difficulty getting enough to eat.
The numbers are worst in South Los Angeles and the eight-county Central Valley, where one in four seniors reported being diagnosed with diabetes -- the fifth most common cause of death among older adults in the U.S. -- up from one in six four years earlier.
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.
As baby boomers age, California's senior population is expected to double in the next two decades, rising to nearly 8 million by 2026. They will also make up a greater share of the state's population, increasing from 11% to nearly 17%.
