March 12, 2009
Native American Death Rates Soar
From seattlepi.com:
A recent state Department of Health report showed that the march against cancer, heart disease and infant mortality has largely bypassed Native Americans. In 2006, the latest year studied, Native American men were dying at the highest rate of all people, with little change since the early '90s. Their life expectancy was 71, the lowest age of all men, and six years lower than that of white men.
The news was just as grim for Native American women. Their death rate had surged by 20 percent in a 15-year period, while the overall death rate had decreased by 17 percent.
But the starkest health disparity was among babies. Native American babies were dying at a rate 44 percent higher than a decade ago, while the overall rate of infant deaths had declined.
Posted by Staff at 08:00 AM
Category: Access to Care; Access to Health Care; Health Care Costs; Health Disparities; Health Inequities; Native American Health; Social Determinants of Health; Socioeconomic Status