High rate of alcohol deaths in Indian Country

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable death among American Indians and Alaska Natives, federal health officials reported last week. Based on data from 2001-2005, the Indian Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 11.7 percent of deaths among Native Americans were alcohol-related. This was twice the rate of the general population.

Full article: http://www.indianz.com/News/2008/010640.asp

[CRNA2007]

I find the high rate of alcoholism on the reservations most often correlates with the fact that there is nothing to do on the reservations but drink. Many reservations are very desolate and isolated from nearby communites combined with high unemployment and a real lack of motivation in most tribal communities to actually push away from federal dependence this is the end result.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

I wish I could accept the simplicity of this explanation (isolation breeds alcoholism and federal dependence), but truly it is more complex than that for the Indian. And I think many Indian spokespersons would attest to this as well.

[Hilinenursegrl]

I work in an IHS and I find most of our cases in the ER are alcohol related. The saddest thing to see is when "kids" to young to even legally drink are brought in for DT's or being sent to rehab. Most kids here have watched generations of family abuse alcohol and fall into that pattern themselves. Even though ours is a "dry" reservation, there are communities minutes away where alcohol is sold.

[CHATSDALE]

i have seen this among non-indians families and extended families and communities where abuse of alcohol and drugs are not frowned on but even considered a right of passage

the babies born to these mothers are often handicapped with MR and physical disabilities

very sad

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

Don't these people have a genetic tendency for alcoholism and diabetes? I've been thinking about this since I've recently taken care of several Indians from our local reservation who had serious alcohol related conditions at a relatively young ages. They also had diabetes. There is definitely a metabolic component to this that, combined with the availability of refined carbohydrates wrecks havoc on the Native American people disproportionately.

[Aleonard13]

thanks thunderwolf for all of these informative posts!

[Nomad76]

Amen, Thunderwolf.

[goodneighbor]

Silly question, but is bottled water, cola, ice tea, lemonade, kool aid, gatorade, watermelon, ice cream, etc. readily available on the rez? Smoothies anyone? I mean, are alternatives as available as alcohol? What did ancestral native americans drink on these hot dry plains? Some kind of root sarsparilla perhaps? Could not a native drink of some sort be developed and marketed with pride? Wouldn't that be nice? Sounds like everyone's dehydrated!

[julieanneb]

Don't these people have a genetic tendency for alcoholism and diabetes? I've been thinking about this since I've recently taken care of several Indians from our local reservation who had serious alcohol related conditions at a relatively young ages. They also had diabetes. There is definitely a metabolic component to this that, combined with the availability of refined carbohydrates wrecks havoc on the Native American people disproportionately.

Yes,we do.

[julieanneb]

Don't these people have a genetic tendency for alcoholism and diabetes? I've been thinking about this since I've recently taken care of several Indians from our local reservation who had serious alcohol related conditions at a relatively young ages. They also had diabetes. There is definitely a metabolic component to this that, combined with the availability of refined carbohydrates wrecks havoc on the Native American people disproportionately.

Yes,we do. As my father used 2 say 2 me,julie,if you dink,you will "break bad"......and I did.