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

• Autores: Tierney Murphy, Pallavi Pokhrel, Anne Worthington, Holly Billie, Mack Sewell, Nancy Bill
• Localización: American journal of public health, ISSN 0090-0036, Vol. 104, Nº. 0, 2014, págs. 470-480
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]