engage in a host of risky behaviors, including smoking and chronic drinking, that may be contributing to high rates of chronic disease and cancer;

report high rates of obesity and living a sedentary lifestyle;

have a disproportionately high rate of chronic disease and cancer among women and that death rates among women for cardiovascular disease, heart disease and other chronic diseases are more than twice that of the national rate for women;

report a high percentage of low birthweight, possibly a result of a high proportion of women reporting alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy.

The study, which focuses on ways to improve health care in the Louisville area, was performed by the Washington, D.C.-based health policy firm The Lewin Group and was commissioned by a Ford/UAW civic partnership called The Louisville Community Health Initiative.

The UAW has worked as partners with automakers in several other communities across the county to commission similar studies. The studies are intended to help community leaders form health care policy in communities where the UAW has a large presence, such as Louisville.

The union represents more than 10,000 employees of Ford's Kentucky Truck and Louisville Assembly plants in Louisville and has more than 5,000 retirees living in the area.

"The report … provides an understanding of the population's needs and health care resources," the release said. "It evaluates and compares the community health, medical resources, service utilization and health care costs of the Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area to other comparable communities and national averages. Most important, (it) establishes an information baseline to help facilitate community discussions on health care planning for the future."

Other key findings include:

When compared with other communities, the area has low rates of unemployment and persons without insurance and has high use of screening and prevention services, such as cholesterol and blood pressure screenings, mammograms and pap smears.

Early disease detection and prevention could be improved. Residents have high rates of death from chronic disease, including heart disease, liver disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Residents also are more frequently diagnosed with and die from cancer.

The area has an excess of hospital-staffed beds, although some counties have a shortage — particularly for maternity beds.

Hospital admissions overall are similar to the nation and other communities. But admissions for circulatory disease are high.

Similar to national trends, African Americans in the area are more likely than white residents to live in poverty, have a lower income and receive less education. African Americans also are twice as likely to die from diabetes, have higher death rates from heart disease and higher rates of death from cancer than whites.

The death rate for African American infants is more than twice that of white infants.

Leslie Genewick, a Ford representative involved in the Louisville study, said in the release that the most important part of the process is yet to come — "working with interested community groups to use this information to help guide improvements in our health care delivery system and the health of our neighbors."