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The leading causes of hospital discharge during 1998-2002 from the New Mexico Health Policy
Commission, Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data (HIDD)4 for the NM AI/AN population were: complications of pregnancy,
childbirth and puerperium (complications of labor and delivery); injury and poisoning (motor vehicle accidents,
falls, and homicide); diseases of the respiratory system (pneumonia and influenza and COPD); diseases of the
digestive system (cholelithiasis, diseases of esophagus and duodenum, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis); and
diseases of the circulatory system (diseases of the heart, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension, and diseases of
arteries and veins). These data do not include hospitalizations from federal hospitals such as the Indian Health
Service and Veterans Administration.
Risk and Resiliency
The proportions of the New Mexico AI/AN adult population who are current smokers, binge drinkers, or heavy drinkers were
similar to all races in New Mexico (Table). The obesity prevalence in the NM AI/AN adult population (33%) is significantly
higher than for all races (20%) and is more than double the HP2010 goal of 15% for people over the age of 205.
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Among the AI/AN youth in grades 9-12 in New Mexico, a higher proportion: were current smokers;
initiated tobacco use at age 12 or younger; had attempted suicide; had past 30-day use of marijuana; were at risk
for overweight; and were overweight as compared to youth of all races. Efforts to reduce the number of overweight
and obese in the population will likely show long-term impact on: death rates from chronic conditions like heart
disease, some cancers, and diabetes; prevalence rates of diabetes; and inpatient hospital discharge rates from these
same chronic conditions. Resiliency factors such as positive peer influence and caring or supportive relationships
were similar between AI/AN youth and youth for all races (Table).
Discussion
Understanding the health status of the AI/AN population in New Mexico is vital to addressing health
disparities between different populations in New Mexico. Assessing AI/AN health status provides valuable health data
necessary for data-driven public health decisions. Improvement of health data for the American Indian population in
New Mexico will necessarily involve data sharing between federal, state, and tribal agencies. Multiple agencies within
New Mexico collect pieces of data that together could provide tribes with a more complete picture of health status of
AI/AN people and communities in New Mexico.
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