Infant mortality, suicide risk and diabetes disparities top Lorain County health concerns in health assessment

ELYRIA, OH — The fetal death rate in Lorain County is nearly three times higher for Black mothers than for white mothers, according to a new countywide health assessment that highlights persistent racial disparities in maternal and child health among other issues.

Lorain County Public Health released its 2025 Lorain County Community Health Assessment, providing a comprehensive look at the health needs, priorities and resources within the county. The assessment, conducted every three years, is used to guide countywide efforts to improve health and advance health equity.

Many of these efforts are made through Lorain County’s Community Health Improvement Plan, which outlines how the county will address the issues identified in the community health assessment. The 2025 Lorain County Community Health Assessment highlights efforts made through the latest improvement plan and identifies areas for ongoing work in the plan’s next iteration.

The 2025 health assessment reveals three priority health needs for the county: behavioral health, chronic disease and maternal child health. These priorities remain largely consistent with the previous community health assessment and align with regional, state and national health priorities.

Behavioral health

Drug overdose deaths in Lorain County due to fentanyl decreased by 19% between 2021 and 2023, likely correlated with an increase in community Naloxone administration.

The five-year average county suicide rate in 2023 was similar to the rate seen in 2018 in Lorain County. Males are three times more likely to die by suicide than females, however adolescent females ages 15 to 19 had the highest emergency department visit rate for self-harm and suicide ideation than any other age group.

Chronic Disease

The diabetes death rate for Black residents has improved in the last decade – though the rate is still nearly twice as high as Lorain County overall. Heart disease death rates have slightly increased in recent years after a period of decline.

Since 2014, lung, bronchus, colon, rectum and pancreas cancer diagnoses have decreased, but breast, liver and bile duct cancer instances have all experienced a slight rise. Together, those cancers make up more than half of all cancer deaths in Lorain County.

Maternal Child Health

Perinatal conditions, including prematurity, were the leading cause of infant death in Lorain County from 2014 to 2023. The infant mortality rate for Black residents from 2019-2023 is the highest of any group or time period, aligning with a similar disparity seen statewide.

More than half of all fetal deaths in the last decade occurred during the intermediate stage of pregnancy, between 20 and 27 weeks of gestation. The fetal mortality rate for Black residents is nearly three times as high as white residents, with a growing disparity in recent years.

To read the full report, which includes more details on the three priority health needs and insights on the county’s social determinants of health and emergency department data, visit the Lorain County Public Health website.

This story was written with the assistance of AI.