Health and the Urban Indian

New Report Shows Serious Health Disparities
Among Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives

Figure B-2. American Indian and Alaska Native population residing in the U.S., 2000
Source: U.S. Census 2000

But even if the numbers are underreported, the study as it stands suggests that the health disparities faced by Indians living in urban areas are at desperate levels. The study found that between 1995 and 2000 infant mortality among American Indian and Alaska Native women was 33 percent higher than average. The rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the leading cause of infant death among American Indian and Alaska Native children in urban areas, was reported at 157 percent higher compared to the rate for all other children. It was also found that Indian mothers were exposed to a number of risk factors that explained the high mortality rates for infants, including a higher delivery of premature babies (13 percent and increasing), pregnant women receiving late or no prenatal care (115 higher but decreasing), higher rates of single motherhood (73 percent), a greater number of babies born to mothers younger than 18 years old (80 percent higher than average) and a higher percentage of women smoking during pregnancy (61 percent but decreasing). Among a host of other socio-economic factors, the study found higher rates of disability, more single parent households, higher rates of poverty, lower levels of formal education, and higher unemployment among urban Indians than for the general population.

"Clearly urban American Indians and Alaska Natives are experiencing a greater burden of health disparities than other racial and ethnic groups in America based on these findings," Forquera said.