Pemiscot Co. life spans among shortest in nation

PEMISCOT COUNTY, Mo. -- Georgia Ball knows how to live.

The lifelong Pemiscot County resident has outlived the county's average life expectancy by 23 years.

A recent Harvard University study of mortality rates in the United States found that people on average die sooner in some counties and later in others. For the more than 19,000 residents of Southeast Missouri's Pemiscot County, that information is frightening.

"It worries me a little because I didn't realize that our life expectancy is so low," said Cathy Brazier, a social worker at the Pemiscot County Memorial Nursing Center.

Life expectancy in Pemiscot County -- approximately 70.9 years -- is one of the lowest in the nation. St. Louis County is the only other Missouri county near the bottom of the list, with an average age of 70.8 years at death.

Ball thinks she knows why she's reached the age of 93. "I think the Lord is taking care of me," she said.

Ball also knows how to take care of herself.

Almost every morning after she wakes up at the Pemiscot County Memorial Nursing Center she walks for exercise. Her diet consists of healthy food -- a lot of fruits and vegetables. She's never touched a cigarette and won't drink alcohol.

Race and income are major factors in the country's health disparities, the Harvard study contends.

Pemiscot County is one of the poorest in the state and country. About 23 percent of the residents have incomes under the national poverty level, according to a 2003 census.

"When there's a high rate of poverty, you sometimes don't have the opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle. People on low incomes are more likely going to eat foods with higher fat, they aren't going to exercise and they don't have insurance to see a doctor," said Pemiscot County Health Department director Gary Gill.

The Harvard study compared data between the country's middle-income white and black residents. The white population lived to an average age of 77.9 years while the country's black population lived to 72.9 years on average.

Pemiscot County has a higher population of black residents -- 25 percent -- compared to the rest of the state, which has a black population of 11.5 percent, according to the 2004 census.

The county ranks high among other counties in the state in heart disease-related deaths.

According to statistics from the Missouri Foundation for Health, a not-for-profit organization serving the uninsured and underinsured, Pemiscot County had 200 more heart disease-related deaths per 100,000 people in 2004 than the state average.

"That's a huge difference," said Leslie Reed, the foundation's vice president of health policy. "It's sad to think that we have people in this country with the same life expectancy as people in Africa or very poor Asian countries."

Lack of education also plays a role in a person's life expectancy. The 2000 census reported that 58 percent of Pemiscot County residents are high school graduates, and only 8.4 percent of the residents had a bachelor's degree or higher.

"People without education don't understand the importance of exercise. When you don't exercise and don't eat right, you're not going to live as long," Gill said.

Across the country, more than 1,000 miles from Pemiscot County, is the Rocky Mountain town of Idaho Springs, Colo. The town is 35 miles west of Denver in Clear Creek County, which has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the country -- 81.3 years.

Clear Creek and six other counties along the Continental Divide in Colorado have the nation's longest average life expectancy. The Colorado county differs from Pemiscot in that only 6.8 percent of residents live below the national poverty level, and the annual average household income is about $33,000 more than a Pemiscot County household.

Jean Barta, Clear Creek County's public health nurse, said a majority of the Colorado county's residents are active. "Physical activity goes along with having a healthy lifestyle. We've got skiing and hiking and biking trails out here. Exercise plays a large role in living longer," Barta said.

Most of the Colorado counties have ski resorts, which are open more than half of the year. Pemiscot County has only one exercise facility -- it was damaged by the tornado that hit Caruthersville several months ago -- and one outdoor walking trail in Hayti.

Gill said the county hopes to build an outdoor walking trail in Caruthersville to provide residents with another place to exercise.

Smoking is another major cause of death in Pemiscot County. According to the Missouri Foundation for Health, there were about 50 smoking-attributed deaths in the county in 2004. That number is considerably higher compared to the entire state, Reed said.

Colorado lawmakers recently passed the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which banned smoking in all public facilities. "I think that may have something to do with why Colorado's residents are living longer -- not many people smoke here," Barta said.

Kennett, Mo., doctor Steve Pu is a board member on the Missouri Foundation for Health. The foundation is working on several health initiatives geared toward the Bootheel.

"Most of these issues are pretty common knowledge. A lot of people in Pemiscot County don't have insurance, and uninsured people go to the doctor later. They don't do a lot of preventative things to keep them healthy," Pu said.

This year the Missouri Foundation for Health will introduce a health literacy plan in Southeast Missouri. The plan will help educate people about ways to better navigate the health-care system, Pu said.

The foundation has a tobacco initiative and offers smoking cessation programs. It also provides funding to the health departments in Pemiscot and Dunklin counties to promote healthy lifestyles.

"I feel like the foundation is doing a heck of a lot down here in the Bootheel to address these issues. We take note of these statistics, and now hopefully we can get policy-makers to look at these health issues people are facing down here," Pu said.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246