Unintentional Injury Mortality Among American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States, 1990-2009

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 104; no. S3; pp. S470 - S480
• Main Authors: MURPHY, Tierney, POKHREL, Pallavi, WORTHINGTON, Anne, BILLIE, Holly, SEWELL, Mack, BILL, Nancy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Public Health Association 01.06.2014
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alaska - epidemiology; Alaska - ethnology; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer; Cause of Death; Child; Child, Preschool; Death Certificates; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Health services; Hispanic people; Humans; Indians, North American - statistics & numerical data; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Injuries; Injury/Emergency Care/Violence; Inuit - statistics & numerical data; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Mortality; Native Americans; Native North Americans; Older people; Poisoning; Population; Population Surveillance; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Race; Regions; Registration; Registries; Research and Practice; Studies; United States - epidemiology; Vehicles; Vital statistics; White people; White People - statistics & numerical data; Wounds and Injuries - ethnology; Wounds and Injuries - mortality; Alaska; United States; North America; America; United States > US; 2009; Amerindian; Accident; Mortality; 1990; Epidemiology; Trauma; Ethnic group; Public health
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301854

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