Adults in West Hollywood are healthier than the county average by one measure, but probably not as healthy as those in at least one nearby city. That is according to a new report by WeHo by the Numbers, based on data from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
UCLA surveys over 20,000 people annually for the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). They use the results, Census data, and statistical techniques to predict the answers for smaller areas like West Hollywood.
In West Hollywood, an estimated 15% of adults aged 18 to 64 — one in seven — were in poor or fair health as of 2014. That is lower than the 22% in Los Angeles, 21% in the county as a whole, and 19% in the state.
By the same measure, West Hollywood’s adult health isn’t as good as Santa Monica’s. Santa Monica had only 10% in poor or fair health in 2014 versus 15% in West Hollywood. The remaining westside cities, Beverly Hills and Culver City, had 14% of their adults in poor or fair health, almost the same as West Hollywood.
The chart above shows those estimates as horizontal lines and 95% confidence intervals as vertical lines. The confidence intervals indicate the range of uncertainty around each estimate. The true number may differ from the estimate, but it’s probably somewhere within the confidence interval. West Hollywood’s big confidence interval means that the differences between West Hollywood and the other cities — except Los Angeles — are suggestive but not statistically significant at the 95% level.
The numbers also cover selected health conditions. For example, UCLA estimates that West Hollywood leads the westside in adults experiencing serious psychological stress. The estimate is 14% or one in seven residents as of 2014. The numbers are lower in the other westside cities (10% or 11%), the county (9%), and the state (8%).
According to the numbers, West Hollywood also leads the westside cities in the percentage of adults ever diagnosed with asthma (16% in 2014). The state average is 14%. The other westside cities have 11% or 12%.
The estimated share of residents diagnosed with heart disease in 2014 doesn’t differ much among the westside cities. Beverly Hills leads with 7%, followed by West Hollywood with 6%. The lowest is Culver City with 5%.
For diabetes, Santa Monica (5%) and West Hollywood (6%) have the lowest estimated occurrence among westside cities in 2014. Los Angeles, the county, and the state are at 9% or 10%.
To find out more, see the full report, How healthy is West Hollywood?
[…] year, a rate that was almost three times higher than that of Los Angeles County overall. In 2014, UCLA predicted that 14% of West Hollywood residents are in serious psychological distress, an estimate […]
To expand on Steve Martin’s point, one only has to attend the Public Comment portion of our City Council meetings to have that proven. I personally play a little game with myself – trying to figure out which member of the public will speak rationally and coherently for two whole minutes. (Some evenings, there’s no winner, so the “jackpot” rolls over to the next meeting.)
I am lost…….. the analogy is…. a residents mental health status is equal to that of the charm of a city…..huh…ok..time for bed. LGBTQ people are one of the leading if not #1 group of people bullied,physically abused, traumatized, discriminated, work harder get paid less, and therefore, when they leave their homes at 18 years old or less and come here for a sense of community, acceptance and Love. They cannot afford to pay their portion of the insurance premium in order to get the heath maintenance they need. Its called empathy, compassion, and a non-judgemental city of politicians, business… Read more »
Mental health has never been our strong point. That is part of our charm.