The latest version of America’s Health Rankings places Iowa ninth in the nation when it comes to the health of women, infants and children. The 2018 ranking was the fifth consecutive increase in Iowa’s relative rank and its highest since 2006.

The report, published by UnitedHealthcare, takes a comprehensive look at health trends among these populations, saying they are fundamental to healthy communities and a healthy nation. 

Among specific measures compared across states in the report, Iowa is the sixth-best state in the nation when it comes to the rate of uninsured women between the ages of 18 and 44 (5.9 percent). Also, 75.6 percent of women between 18 and 44 visit the dentist regularly, which is seventh-best in the country. And Iowa is the second-best state for the rate of women between 18 and 44 receiving flu vaccines (47 percent). 

At the same time, 22.6 percent of Iowa women drink excessively, which puts the state in 43rd place in that category, and 28.9 percent of Iowa women are obese, or 34th among the states. 

On an overall basis, the report found that states have made progress across key measures of clinical care including an increase in the percentage of women with a dedicated health care provider, a decline in the percentage of uninsured women and a decline in teen births. 

However, key measures of mortality for both women and children in the United States have increased since 2016, including an increase in the rate of drug deaths among females ages 15-44.