NORTH-TO-SOUTH POSITION OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER STATES AND THEIR HEALTH RANK: A 
COMMENTARY

John Hart
Sherman Chiropractic College, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29304

      The recent news that Minnesota ranks first in health and Louisiana last, 
suggested to the author that their connecting medium, the Mississippi River, 
might be a factor. Consequently, a correlation was sought between position of 
states along the Mississippi River and their health rank. Correlations were 
sought in similar categories such as position of states along the eastern U.S. 
seaboard and Missouri River. Accordingly, each state was ranked according to its 
north-to-south position. The position rank was then correlated with the health 
rank for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006 using the Spearman correlation test. 
Similar correlations were also made for Mississippi River states and 
temperature, per capita income, and ACT scores. A strong correlation was found 
between position of states along the Mississippi River and their health rank for 
the years assessed (mean r = 0.959). Strong correlations were also found for 
position of Mississippi River states and temperature (r = 0.976), per capita 
income (r = -0.952), and ACT scores (mean r = -0.863). Correlations were less 
strong when comparing health rank to state positions along the eastern seaboard 
(mean r = 0.859) and along the Missouri River (mean r = 0.458). Thus, a state’s 
north-to-south position, particularly along the Mississippi River, appears to be 
a risk factor for its health rank. Further study is indicated regarding possible 
causative mechanisms.

Keywords: Mississippi River, river contaminants, health rank of states, per 
capita income, ACT scores, and temperature




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