Mose A. Herne is with the Division of Planning, Evaluation, and Research, Office of Public Health Support, Indian Health Service (IHS), Rockville, MD. Michael L. Bartholomew is with the Division of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Office of Public Health Support, Rockville, MD. Rose L. Weahkee is with Field Operations, Phoenix Area Office, IHS, Phoenix, AZ.
Am J Public Health. 2014 Jun;104 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S336-42. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301929. Epub 2014 Apr 22.
We assessed national and regional suicide mortality for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons.
We used 1999 to 2009 death certificate data linked with Indian Health Service (IHS) patient registration data to examine death rates from suicide in AI/AN and White persons. Analysis focused primarily on residents of IHS Contract Health Service Delivery Area counties; Hispanics were excluded. We used age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 population and stratified our analyses by age and IHS region.
Death rates from suicide were approximately 50% higher among AI/AN persons (21.2) than Whites (14.2). By region, rates for AI/AN people were highest in Alaska (rates = 65.4 and 19.3, for males and females, respectively) and in the Northern Plains (rates = 41.6 and 11.9 for males and females, respectively). Disparities between AI/AN and White rates were also highest in these regions.
A coordinated, multidisciplinary effort involving federal, state, local, and tribal health officials is needed to address this important public health issue.
我们评估了美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民（AI/AN）人群的全国和地区自杀死亡率。
我们使用了 1999 年至 2009 年的死亡证明数据，并将其与印第安卫生服务（IHS）患者登记数据相链接，以检查 AI/AN 和白人人群中的自杀死亡率。分析主要集中在 IHS 合同医疗服务提供地区的县的居民；不包括西班牙裔。我们使用每 10 万人中有多少人死于自杀的年龄调整死亡率，并按年龄和 IHS 地区对分析进行分层。
AI/AN 人群的自杀死亡率（21.2）比白人（14.2）高出约 50%。按地区划分，AI/AN 人群的自杀率在阿拉斯加最高（男性和女性的比率分别为 65.4 和 19.3），在北部平原最高（男性和女性的比率分别为 41.6 和 11.9）。在这些地区，AI/AN 人群和白人人群之间的差异也最大。
需要联邦、州、地方和部落卫生官员共同努力，以解决这一重要的公共卫生问题。
