Colorado’s Latino population is disproportionately affected by several major health problems, topping the charts for diabetes deaths, motor vehicle deaths, childhood obesity and cervical cancer cases, according to a report released Wednesday by state health officials.

Despite the grim statistics, however, there is some good news: A local program is launching to combat part of the problem. Funded by a $155,000 grant from the Office of Health Disparities and run by the Latin American Health Network, the program will serve Latinos in Colorado Springs, Peyton, Calhan and Avondale (in Pueblo County).

The program will train Spanish speaking men age 35 and older as health promoters who will teach Latino communities about the importance of early screening for four cancers — breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate — that disproportionately affect Latinos in Southern Colorado. Women educators will be added to the program in 2010.

The report released Wednesday by the Office of Health Disparities at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment looks at the health problems of a number of minority groups, including Latinos, and  compares the data against the rest of the population and with each another.

Health disparities are prevalent among minority groups for a variety of reasons, and some struggle with certain health conditions more than others. Blacks, for example, top the list for deaths from heart disease, lung cancer, prostate cancer and homicide. American Indians have the highest smoking rates and adult obesity rates.

Latinos are the state’s largest minority group, numbering nearly 1 million and composing 20 percent of Colorado’s population. Although the group has better than average rates in some areas, such as diagnosed high blood pressure and deaths from lung cancer, serious health problems are more common.

Nearly a quarter of Latino children are obese, the report shows, compared with fewer than 14 percent of children overall. The death rate from diabetes is two and a half times higher than that of the population as a whole.

People interested in participating in the new program can attend a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Penrose Public Library, in downtown Colorado Springs. If you plan to attend, send an e-mail to Ada Torres at adamariatorres@hotmail.com.

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Call Newsome at 636-0198. Visit the Pikes Peak Health blog at www.pikespeakhealth.freedomblogging.com and the Gazette’s Health page at Gazette.com/health

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