So the local poverty rate didn’t budge much locally, according to Kelly Bennett, over in Voice’s Survival in San Diego department.

That’s good news for local public health. A study released today and being published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine says national increases in poverty rates have “disturbing implications” for public health elsewhere.

Increasing poverty rates have the most profound effects on children, said Dr. Steven Woolf, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor of family medicine, epidemiology and community health.

In a news release, Woolf said the nationwide poverty increases will affect a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses, more severe complications from disease and increased demands and costs for healthcare.

ROB DAVIS

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