BACKGROUND: Excessive alcohol use is a major public health concern nationally and a priority health concern for many tribal communities. In New Mexico, American Indians are significantly less likely to drink any alcohol compared to non-Hispanic Whites, however among those who do drink, significant alcohol-related morbidity and mortality is observed. Assessing the impact of excessive alcohol use can pose difficulties when tribal affiliation is not collected in records. The objective of this analysis was to assess alcohol-related impact on mortality using a previously developed strategy in tribal areas in New Mexico.
METHODS: Mortality in tribal areas was estimated by geocoding New Mexico death certificate data from 2007-2013 and using tribal boundaries to categorize decedents as residing within tribal lands. Mortality data was categorized as alcohol-related using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) fractions to estimate alcohol-related deaths. Only aggregated rates were reported because tribal-specific data are only released to tribal nations.
RESULTS: There are 23 federally recognized tribal nations in New Mexico. A total of 4,865 decedents were geocoded to tribal areas in 2007-2013. Of these, 793 deaths were categorized as alcohol-related. A total of 442 alcohol-related deaths were considered chronic disease deaths (e.g. chronic liver disease) and 351 were considered injury deaths (e.g. alcohol poisoning).
CONCLUSIONS: Over 16% of deaths on tribal lands are considered alcohol-related. Tribal-specific data is crucial for tribal nations to make public health decisions, evaluate interventions, and apply for public health funding. Departments of Health can be important partners in ensuring that tribes have access to necessary data. Geocoded mortality data can be used to estimate the impact of excessive alcohol use in tribal areas for tribal nations that are working on alcohol-related prevention.