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 How Social Factors Affect Health in New Mexico Introduction. The associations between social factors and health in this Appendix derive from the New Mexico Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System of the Office of Epidemiology, New Mexico Department of Health. The 1998 sample included 3,638 adult New Mexicans, age 18 and over, who responded to specific questions about ethnicity, race, education, income and health-related behaviors.
Smoking, exercise and diet. Table 1 shows that New Mexicans with only a high school diploma, or less, are more likely to be smokers than those with some college (28% vs. 18%). Those with annual household income below $20,000 are more likely to be smokers than those with higher incomes (29% vs. 21%). New Mexicans who did not attend college are more likely to report no regular exercise than their college-educated peers (59% vs. 41%).(1) Income is related to exercise behavior: persons earning less than $20,000 per year are more likely (58% vs. 47%) to report the lack of regular exercise than persons earning $20,000 or more. It has been recommended that people eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.(2) Education is associated with that behavior; 83% of New Mexicans with only a high school diploma or less do not eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, compared with 76% of those with a college education. Self-reported health status. Education and income levels are positively associated with New Mexicans’ self-reported health status;(3) 67% of those with at least some college describe their health as “excellent or very good” compared to 43% of those with less education. Among those whose incomes are at least $20,000 per year, 63% report their health as excellent or very good, compared to 38% of those making less. The associations of education or income with acute/binge drinking(4) are not statistically significant. Income also is not significantly associated with eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables. Healthcare coverage and use of cancer-screening exams. Persons with only a high school education or less are twice as likely to lack healthcare coverage (24% vs. 11%) as those with at least some college (Table 2). 35% of those whose annual incomes were below $20,000 per year lack such coverage versus 11% of those with higher incomes. Hispanics are twice as likely as Non-Hispanic Whites (25% vs. 12%) to lack coverage. 27% of women age 40 or over with a high school diploma or less have never had a mammogram or clinical breast exam (CBE), compared to 17% of those with more education. Income has a similar impact. Among women who earn less than $20,000, 28% have never received such clinical preventive services vs. 20% of women who earn $20,000 or more.
Overweight and chronic diseases. Of New Mexicans with a high school diploma or less, 33% are overweight,(5) compared to 27% of those with some college or more. Income exhibits a similar effect: 35% of those earning $20,000 or less are overweight, compared to 29% of those with higher incomes. American Indians (40%) and Hispanics (35%) are more likely to be overweight than Non-Hispanic Whites (26%). Persons with lower education levels reported twice as often that they had been told by their doctors that they had had a heart attack, and twice as often that they had diabetes. Non-Hispanic Whites were twice as likely (4.4% vs. 2.2%) as Hispanics to report having been told by their doctors that they had had a heart attack. American Indians (9%) and Hispanics (7%) were more than twice as likely as Non-Hispanic Whites (3%) to have received a diagnosis of diabetes. Conclusion. Education and income are related positively to major healthy behaviors (nonsmoking, exercise and healthy diet). They also are associated with health care coverage and the use of cancer screening exams. Education and income are all related to the likelihood of being overweight or having a heart attack or diabetes.    |
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