TABLE 1. Selected demographic and descriptive characteristics of American Indian or Alaska Native and non–American Indian or Alaska Native suicide decedents — National Violent Death Reporting System, United States, 2015–2020.
| Characteristic | No. (%)* |
Chi-square p-value† | aOR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI/AN (n = 3,397) | Non-AI/AN (n = 179,850) | |||
|
Age group, yrs
| ||||
| 10–14 |
83 (2.4) |
1,996 (1.1) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
| 15–19 |
368 (10.8) |
8,591 (4.8) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
| 20–24 |
491 (14.5) |
14,440 (8.0) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
| 25–44 |
1,593 (46.9) |
58,662 (32.6) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
| 45–64 |
701 (20.6) |
62,941 (35.0) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
| ≥65 |
161 (4.7) |
33,220 (18.5) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
|
Sex
| ||||
| Male |
2,553 (75.2) |
140,690 (78.2) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
| Female |
844 (24.8) |
39,155 (21.8) |
<0.001 |
—§ |
|
Ethnicity
| ||||
| Hispanic or Latino |
233 (6.9) |
13,486 (7.5) |
0.154 |
0.7 (0.6–0.8)¶ |
| Non-Hispanic |
3150 (93.1) |
165,358 (92.5) |
0.154 |
1.4 (1.2–1.6)¶ |
|
RUCA**
| ||||
| Nonmetro |
1,515 (44.8) |
33,476 (18.7) |
<0.001 |
3.7 (3.4–3.9)¶ |
| Metro |
1,864 (55.2) |
145,345 (81.3) |
<0.001 |
0.3 (0.3–0.3)¶ |
|
Method
| ||||
| Firearm |
1,261 (37.1) |
88,893 (49.4) |
<0.001 |
0.7 (0.6–0.7)¶ |
| Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation |
1,594 (46.9) |
51,457 (28.6) |
<0.001 |
1.8 (1.7–1.9)¶ |
| Poisoning |
312 (9.2) |
23,309 (13.0) |
<0.001 |
0.7 (0.7–0.8)¶ |
| Motor vehicle |
62 (1.8) |
2,925 (1.6) |
0.365 |
0.9 (0.7–1.2) |
| Sharp instrument |
74 (2.2) |
3,577 (2.0) |
0.434 |
1.4 (1.1–1.7)¶ |
| Fall |
43 (1.3) |
4,628 (2.6) |
<0.001 |
0.5 (0.3–0.6)¶ |
| Other (single method) |
30 (0.9) |
3,063 (1.7) |
<0.001 |
0.5 (0.4–0.8)¶ |
|
Location of injury
| ||||
| House or apartment |
2,373 (69.9) |
130,802 (72.7) |
<0.001 |
0.9 (0.8–1.0)¶ |
| Transport related†† |
272 (8.0) |
19,004 (10.6) |
<0.001 |
0.7 (0.6–0.8)¶ |
| Natural area§§ |
236 (6.9) |
8,368 (4.7) |
<0.001 |
1.4 (1.2–1.6)¶ |
| Supervised facility¶¶ |
99 (2.9) |
2,512 (1.4) |
<0.001 |
2.0 (1.7–2.5)¶ |
| Hotel or motel |
72 (2.1) |
4,060 (2.3) |
0.592 |
1.0 (0.8–1.3) |
| Abandoned building or industrial setting*** |
22 (0.6) |
762 (0.4) |
0.048 |
1.5 (1.0–2.3) |
| School (including college) |
19 (0.6) |
460 (0.3) |
<0.001 |
1.1 (0.7–1.8) |
| Other |
228 (6.7) |
9,107 (5.1) |
<0.001 |
1.3 (1.2–1.5)¶ |
|
Other characteristic
| ||||
| Current or former military personnel |
271 (8.7) |
28,912 (17.1) |
<0.001 |
0.7 (0.6–0.8)¶ |
| Current experience of homelessness | 106 (3.3) | 2,416 (1.4) | <0.001 | 2.4 (2.0–3.0)¶ |
Abbreviations: AI/AN = American Indian or Alaska Native; aOR = adjusted odds ratio; RUCA = rural-urban commuting area.
* Denominator includes all suicide decedents.
† Pearson’s chi-square test p-value for difference between AI/AN and non-AI/AN populations.
§ aORs measure the association between the decedent having the demographic or incident characteristic and the race of the decedent being AI/AN. Each aOR used non-AI/AN as the referent group and controlled for age group and sex. Therefore, aORs for age groups and sex are not presented.
¶ p<0.05 for aOR significance test.
** Zip code RUCA codes (2010) were used to determine whether a decedent lived in a nonmetropolitan versus a metropolitan area. Decedent residential zip codes were dichotomized as metropolitan (RUCA codes 1–3) and nonmetropolitan (RUCA codes 4–10). https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-commuting-area-codes/documentation/
†† Includes suicides that occurred in a motor vehicle, street, highway, parking lot or garage, public transport, railroad tracks, or bridge.
§§ Includes suicides that occurred on a beach or in a river, field, or woods.
¶¶ Includes suicides that occurred in jail, prison, or supervised residential facility.
*** Includes suicides that occurred in industrial or construction sites or an abandoned house, building, or warehouse.