By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

Alabama is one of the most-stressed states in the nation, faring poorly in categories such as credit scores, health and access to mental health services, according to a study recently completed by a national website in recognition of Stress Awareness Month.

The Wallethub.com website recently published its list of the most- and least-stressed states in the country, and Alabama came in as the No. 7 most-stressed state behind Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia and New Mexico.

“WalletHub compared the 50 states across 40 key indicators of stress to determine the places to avoid and achieve a more relaxing life,” read the website. “Our data set ranges from average hours worked per week to personal bankruptcy rate to share of adults getting adequate sleep.”

Through the study, the website ranked states in areas such as work-related stress, money-related stress, family related stress and health and safety related stress before giving each state an overall stress score.

According to the study, Alabama has the second-lowest rate of psychologists per capita, the third-lowest median credit score, the sixth-highest percentage of adults in fair or poor health, the sixth-highest percentage of population living below the poverty line, the seventh-highest divorce rate, the seventh-lowest rate of adults who get adequate sleep, the seventh-highest crime rate per capita and the 17^th-highest average number of hours worked per week.

Overall, Alabama ranked 27^th for work-related stress, sixth-highest for money-related stress, 10^th-highest for family related stress and seventh-highest for health and safety-related stress.

Neighboring Mississippi posted the highest poverty rate at 21.5 percent, the highest rate of adults in poor or fair health at 24.03 percent and the lowest rate of psychologists per 100,000 people at 15.07.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Minnesota, Utah, Massachusetts, North Dakota and South Dakota were the lowest-stressed states, according to the study.

To view the full rankings, visit Wallethub.com/edu/most-stressful-states/32218/.