@article{ref1,
title="Suicides Among American Indian/Alaska Natives - National Violent Death Reporting System, 18 States, 2003-2014",
journal="MMWR: Morbidity and mortality weekly report",
year="2018",
author="Leavitt, Rachel A. and Ertl, Allison and Sheats, Kameron and Petrosky, Emiko and Ivey-Stephenson, Asha and Fowler, Katherine A.",
volume="67",
number="8",
pages="237-242",
abstract="Suicide disproportionately affects American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN). The suicide rate among AI/AN has been increasing since 2003 (1), and in 2015, AI/AN suicide rates in the 18 states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) were 21.5 per 100,000, more than 3.5 times higher than those among racial/ethnic groups with the lowest rates.* To study completed suicides across all ages of AI/AN, NVDRS data collected from 2003 to 2014 were analyzed by comparing differences in suicide characteristics and circumstances between AI/AN and white decedents. Group differences were assessed using chi-squared tests and logistic regression. Across multiple demographics, incident characteristics, and circumstances, AI/AN decedents were significantly different from white decedents. More than one third (35.7%) of AI/AN decedents were aged 10-24 years (versus 11.1% of whites). Compared with whites, AI/AN decedents had 6.6 times the odds of living in a nonmetropolitan area, 2.1 times the odds of a positive alcohol toxicology result, and 2.4 times the odds of a suicide of a friend or family member affecting their death. Suicide prevention efforts should incorporate evidence-based, culturally relevant strategies at individual, interpersonal, and community levels (2) and need to account for the heterogeneity among AI/AN communities (3,4).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0149-2195",
doi="10.15585/mmwr.mm6708a1",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6708a1"
}