| Summary: | Objectives. We assessed national and regional suicide mortality for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons. Methods. 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. Results. 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. Conclusions. A coordinated, multidisciplinary effort involving federal, state, local, and tribal health officials is needed to address this important public health issue. adolescent; adult; aged; American Indian; article; death certificate; ethnology; female; health survey; human; Inuit; male; middle aged; statistics; suicide; United States; very elderly, Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alaska; Death Certificates; Female; Humans; Indians, North American; Inuits; Male; Middle Aged; Population Surveillance; Suicide; United States
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