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Population Health Data


Contra Costa Health Services tracks all kinds of health data in order to identify areas of concern and measure the health of our county's residents against the health of Californians in general.

Click on a category below (for example, "Diabetes") in order to see some statistics we have highlighted about mortality rates, diseases and health conditions in Contra Costa. The data is drawn from the 2010 Community Health Indicators report, a full copy of which you can read here. You can find data about other diseases and trends in the Health Indicators report. You can also access additional data about HIV/AIDS, STDs, tuberculosis and other reportable communicable diseases on the menu bar to the left.

Health Inequities
  • In Contra Costa, greater wealth equated to longer life. A child born in a low-poverty area in 2000 could expect to live more than six years longer than a child born in a high-poverty area. Life expectancy in low-poverty areas was 81.4 years and 74.9 years in high-poverty areas.
  • African Americans in Contra Costa had a shorter life expectancy (73.1 years) than any other racial/ethnic group in the county. An Asian/Pacific Islander or Hispanic baby born between 2005 and 2007 in Contra Costa could expect to live more than 12 years longer than an African American baby born at the same time.
  • A child born in a high-education area in Contra Costa (i.e., all census tracts with less than 5% of residents with less than a high school diploma) in 2000 could expect to live more than seven years longer than a child born in a low-education area (all census tracts with 25% or more residents with less than a high school diploma).
  • View the report on health inequities in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Leading Causes of Death
  • Heart disease and cancer accounted for roughly half of all deaths in Contra Costa and California.
  • Contra Costa residents were more likely to die from homicide compared to California residents.
  • View report on causes of death in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Homicide and Non-Fatal Assaults
  • The leading cause of homicide and hospitalized assaults was firearms.
  • African American males were most likely to die from homicide.
  • Half (50.5%) of all homicides in Contra Costa occurred among African Americans, followed by Hispanics (24.5%), whites (17.4%) and Asians/Pacific Islanders (5.2%).
  • Residents of Richmond and San Pablo were more likely to die from homicide than county residents overall.
  • View the report on homicides and non-fatal assaults in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Fetal and Infant Death
  • Contra Costa's infant mortality rate was lower than the rate for California.
  • There were 173 infant deaths in Contra Costa between 2005 and 2007—an average of 58 per year.
  • The African American rate of infant death was more than three times the rate of whites (2.9 per 1,000 live births) and higher than any other racial/ethnic group listed.
  • Between 2005 and 2007 there were 231 fetal deaths in Contra Costa —an average of 77 per year.
  • View the report on fetal and infant death. (PDF)

Low Birth Weight Infants
  • From 2005-2007, African Americans had the highest rate of low birth weight infants.
  • Richmond mothers were more likely to have low birth weight infants than mothers in the county overall.
  • Contra Costa's low birth weight percentage (6.7%) was similar to California's percentage (6.9%) for the same period (2005-2007) but did not meet the Healthy People 2010 objective (5%).
  • View the report on low birth weight infants in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Births to Teens
  • Between 2005-2007, Contra Costa's teen birth rate was lower than the California rate.
  • More than half of all teen births were to Hispanic teens.
  • Richmond and Antioch had the highest teen birth rates in Contra Costa; El Cerrito and Pleasant Hill had the lowest.
  • View the report on teen births in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Local Births
  • The birth rate of county residents did not change significantly between 2005 and 2007.
  • Hispanics mothers had the greatest number of births during that period.
  • Residents of San Pablo had the highest birth rate.
  • View the report on local births in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Early Prenatal Care
  • From 2005 to 2007, pregnant Hispanic and African American women were less likely to receive first trimester prenatal care compared to pregnant women in the county overall.
  • A greater percentage of women residing in Contra Costa received prenatal care in the first trimester compared to California.
  • Pregnant women residing in Bay Point, Pittsburg, Antioch and Concord had lower rates of first trimester prenatal care than the county overall.
  • View the report on prenatal care in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Breastfeeding
  • African American babies were least likely to be breastfed in the hospital.
  • In the San Francisco Bay Area, low-income mothers were less likely to breastfeed their babies than higher-income mothers.
  • In 2006, 12,147 babies born in Contra Costa hospitals were breastfed, formula fed or some combination of the two before being discharged from the hospital. Of these, 11,318 were breastfed at least once.
  • While a high percentage of babies were breastfed, nearly one-third of these were also formula fed before being discharged from the hospital. Just 62.2% (7,556) of the 12,147 babies were breastfed exclusively until they left the hospital.
  • View the report on breastfeeding in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Children's Oral Health
  • In 2007, 74.6% of school-age children (5-17 years) in Contra Costa had seen a dentist in the previous six months. This percentage is similar to the percentage for California (70.0%).
  • 7.7% of children ages 5-17 in the greater Bay Area (an estimated 93,000 children) missed at least one day of school due to dental problems.
  • View the report on children's oral health in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Cancers, All Types
  • The most commonly diagnosed cancers in the county were prostate, breast, lung and colorectal cancer.
  • Lung, colorectal, breast and pancreatic cancers were the most common causes of cancer death.
  • African Americans were most likely to die from cancer.
  • View report on cancer data in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Female Breast Cancer
  • Breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women between 2005-2007.
  • Females in Contra Costa were more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than females in California.
  • White females were most likely to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
  • Most invasive breast cancer cases and deaths were among white females.
  • African American females were more likely to die from breast cancer than females in the county overall.
  • View the report on female breast cancer in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Childhood Asthma
  • Between 2005–2007, there were 1,021 asthma hospitalizations among Contra Costa children ages 0-14. Contra Costa's age-adjusted asthma hospitalization rate for children (16.1 per 10,000) was higher than California's age-adjusted rate (13.2 per 10,000).
  • African American children were most likely to be hospitalized for asthma.
  • View report on childhood asthma in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Diabetes
  • Between 2005–2007, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in Contra Costa, accounting for 2.9% of all deaths in the county.
  • African Americans were most likely to die of diabetes.
  • People living in San Pablo, Pittsburg, Antioch and Richmond were more likely to die from diabetes compared to the county overall.
  • View report on diabetes in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Heart Disease
  • Between 2005–2007, heart disease accounted for 22.7% of all deaths in Contra Costa, making it the second leading cause of death in the county after cancer.
  • People living in San Pablo were most likely to die of heart disease.
  • View report on heart disease in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Obesity
  • In 2007, more than half (56.2%) of Contra Costa adults were either overweight or obese. This was similar to the percent of overweight and obese adults in the greater Bay Area (53.3%) and California (58.4%).
  • In 2008–2009, an estimated 3,136 fifth-graders in Contra Costa were overweight or obese.
  • Latino and African American fifth-graders were more likely to be overweight or obese than fifth-graders in the county overall.
  • Antioch, West Contra Costa and Pittsburg unified school districts had higher percentages of overweight or obese fifth-graders compared to the county overall.
  • View the report on adult obesity in Contra Costa. (PDF)
  • View the report on childhood obesity in Contra Costa. (PDF)

Substance Abuse
  • Young people, whites and males had a higher prevalence of binge drinking in 2007.
  • Nearly 11% of Contra Costa adults were current smokers in 2007.
  • In 2009, there were 4,201 admissions to licensed or publicly funded facilities for substance-abuse treatment in Contra Costa.
  • In 2009, more people were admitted for methamphetamine-abuse treatment (1,297) than any other drug group. Alcohol was the second most common reason for admission (1,046), followed by marijuana (659).
  • View the report on substance abuse in Contra Costa. (PDF)