American Notes TRENDS

Americans may be united on many issues, but they certainly differ on how to manage their own health and safety. In a survey of more than 1,000 people in each of 32 states and the District of Columbia, taken in 1987 and released only last week, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found some vast disparities:

-- In South Dakota 72% of drivers ignore their seat belts; in safety-conscious Hawaii only 7% say that they fail to buckle up.

-- Nearly one-third of Kentuckians smoke, more than twice the proportion of the clean-living folks in Utah.

-- Nearly 30% of Wisconsinites reported they guzzle more than four drinks at a sitting. But in abstemious New Mexico, only 6.6% are bingers.

-- Nearly 60% of Marylanders had their cholesterol checked; fewer than 30% of New Mexicans bothered.