Research Summary - Alcohol Taking Deadly Toll on Native Americans

CDC Finds Alcohol Taking Deadly Toll on Native Americans September 2, 2008
Research Summary
A study of death certificates recorded between 2001 and 2005 found that about 12 percent of all deaths among Native Americans were related to alcohol, All Headline News reported Aug. 30. The alcohol-related mortality rate among Native Americans was three times greater than among the general population, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alcohol-related deaths among Native Americans were most prevalent in the Northern Plains states.

Alcohol-related causes of death included traffic accidents and liver disease, each of which caused about one-quarter of all fatalities. Roughly two-thirds of the Native Americans who died from alcohol-related causes were men, and about the same proportion were under age 50.
The study was published in the Aug. 29, 2008 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.