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).
Highlights
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAnne Schuchat, MD, Acting Director Stephen C
Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. § Adjusted odds ratios measure the association between the decedent having tested positive for the substance and the race of the decedent being AI/AN
The denominator was the number of decedents who were tested for each substance
Summary
Anne Schuchat, MD, Acting Director Stephen C. MD, Acting Principal Deputy Director Leslie Dauphin, PhD, Acting Associate Director for Science Joanne Cono, MD, ScM, Director, Office of Science Quality Chesley L. MD, MPH, Deputy Director for Public Health Scientific Services Michael F. MD, MPH, Director, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services. PhD, MPH, Acting Editor in Chief, Executive Editor Jacqueline Gindler, MD, Editor. Mary Dott, MD, MPH, Online Editor Teresa F. Weatherwax, Lead Technical Writer-Editor Glenn Damon, Soumya Dunworth, PhD, Teresa M. MD Katherine Lyon Daniel, PhD Jonathan E.
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