Mortality profile of the non-hispanic American Indian or Alaska native population, 2019

Abstract

Objectives—This report presents a mortality profile of the U.S. non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) population for 2019. Standard mortality statistics, adjusted for race and Hispanic-origin misclassification on death certificates, are provided along with comparisons with the three major U.S. populations: non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic. Methods—The data used to produce the mortality statistics shown in this report include final mortality data for 2019; July 1, 2019, population estimates based on the 2010 decennial census; the 2018 and 2019 linked birth/infant death data files; and a data set consisting of 2010 decennial census AIAN records linked to mortality data. Age-specific and age-adjusted death rates, leading causes of death, and life expectancy estimates are adjusted for race and Hispanic-origin misclassification using adjustment factors produced from the census-mortality-linked data set. Results—After adjusting for misclassification, the non-Hispanic AIAN population experienced substantially higher mortality than non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic populations in the United States. Non-Hispanic AIAN persons experienced greater all-cause mortality, higher age-specific death rates at most ages but particularly at younger ages, and higher mortality for most of the top leading causes of death. They also had the lowest life expectancy at birth (71.8) compared with the non-Hispanic white (78.8), non-Hispanic black (74.8), and Hispanic (81.9) populations.