Citation

Murphy T, Pokhrel P, Worthington A, Billie H, Sewell M, Bill N. Am. J. Public Health 2014; 104(Suppl 3): S470-80.

Affiliation

Tierney Murphy, Pallavi Pokhrel, and Anne Worthington are with the Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, Santa Fe. Holly Billie is with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Mack Sewell is with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Cheyenne. Nancy Bill is with Indian Health Services, Rockville, MD.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2013.301854

PMID

24754624

Abstract

OBJECTIVEs. We describe the burden of unintentional injury (UI) deaths among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations in the United States.

METHODS. National Death Index records for 1990 to 2009 were linked with Indian Health Service registration records to identify AI/AN deaths misclassified as non-AI/AN deaths. Most analyses were restricted to Contract Health Service Delivery Area counties in 6 geographic regions of the United States. We compared age-adjusted death rates for AI/AN persons with those for Whites; Hispanics were excluded.

RESULTS. From 2005 to 2009, the UI death rate for AI/AN people was 2.4 times higher than for Whites. Death rates for the 3 leading causes of UI death-motor vehicle traffic crashes, poisoning, and falls-were 1.4 to 3 times higher among AI/AN persons than among Whites. UI death rates were higher among AI/AN males than among females and highest among AI/AN persons in Alaska, the Northern Plains, and the Southwest.

CONCLUSIONS. AI/AN persons had consistently higher UI death rates than did Whites. This disparity in overall rates coupled with recent increases in unintentional poisoning deaths requires that injury prevention be a major priority for improving health and preventing death among AI/AN populations. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 22, 2014: e1-e11. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301854).

Language: en