• In 2005, suicide was the second leading cause of death for American Indian/Alaska Natives between the ages of 10 and 34.¹
• American Indian/Alaska Natives are more than twice as likely to experience feelings of sadness or hopelessness as compared to non-Hispanic Whites.
• Violent deaths – unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide – account for 75% of all mortality in the second decade of life for American Indian/Alaska Natives.²
• While the overall death rate from suicide for American Indian/Alaska Natives is comparable to the White population, adolescent American Indian/Alaska Natives have death rates two to three times the rate for Whites in the same age groups.

MENTAL HEALTH STATUS:

Serious psychological distress among adults 18 years of age and over, percent, 2005-2006

American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.7	2.8	1.7

Source: CDC, 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 61.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf[PDF, 475KB]

Percent of population with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, or that everything is an effort, all of the time, among persons 18 years of age and over, 2006

	American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Sadness	6.2	2.8	2.2
Hopelessness	4.8	1.9	2.5
Worthlessness	-	1.7	-
Everything is an effort	7.2	4.8	1.5

Source:  CDC 2007. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2006. Table 14.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf[PDF, 3.7MB]

Percent of population with feelings of nervousness or restlessness, among persons 18 years of age and over, 2006

	American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Nervousness, all or most of time	4.5	4.0	1.1
Nervousness, some of time	8.3	11.6	0.7
Restlessness, all or most of time	10.0	6.0	1.7
Restlessness, some of time	12.1	12.0	1.0

Source:  CDC 2007. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2006. Table 16.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf[PDF, 3.7MB]

DEATH RATES:

Age-adjusted death rates for suicide, by race, 2005

American Indian/Alaska Native	White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ White Ratio
11.7	12.0	1.0

Source: CDC, 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 29.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf[PDF, 475KB]

Death rates for suicide, age, race and Hispanic origin, 2005: Men

	American Indian/Alaska Native Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	American Indian/Alaska Native Men/ Non-Hispanic White Men Ratio
15-24 years	32.7	18.4	1.8
25-44 years	29.4	26.6	1.1
45-64 years	16.8	28.2	0.6
65 years and over	-	33.2	-
All ages	18.9	21.2	0.9

Source: CDC, 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 46.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf[PDF, 475KB]

Death rates for suicide, age, race and Hispanic origin, 2005: Women

	American Indian/Alaska Native Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	American Indian/Alaska Native Women/ Non-Hispanic White Women Ratio
15-24 years	10.1	3.9	2.6
25-44 years	7.4	7.4	1.0
45-64 years	-	8.7	-
65 years and over	-	4.3	-
All ages	4.6	5.3	0.9

Source: CDC, 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 46.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf[PDF, 475KB]

ADOLESCENTS:

Death rates for suicide, 2005: Ages 12 - 18

	American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	16.3	7.8	2.1
Female	9.6*	2.1	4.6
Total	13.0	5.0	2.6

Source:  CDC. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics
Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). [accessed 07/25/2008].
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE:

Percent of Adults age 18 and over who received mental health treatment or counseling in the past year, 2005

American Indian/Alaska Native	White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ White Ratio
12.7	14.0	0.9

Source:  2007 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 243a.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr07/index.html

Percent of Adults age 18 and over who received prescription medications for mental health treatment or counseling, 2005

American Indian/Alaska Native	White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ White Ratio
10.7	11.8	0.9

Source:  2007 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 245a.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr07/index.html

NOTE: * Rates based on 20 or fewer deaths may be unstable. Use with caution.