Suicides among American Indian/Alaska Native adults aged 18-24 years exceeded the national rate by 76%, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
The overall rate for American Indian/Alaska Native adults (AIANs) aged 18-24 from 2012 to 2013 was 22.5/100,000 population, compared with a rate of 12.8/100,000 for all young adults in the age group. The NCHS report also noted that deaths overall among AIANs might be underreported by 30%, so the difference might be even greater.
Non-Hispanic whites, with a rate of 15.4/100,000, were the only other group of the five included in the report that was above the overall rate. Asian/Pacific Islanders aged 18-24 years had a suicide rate of 9.2/100,000, with non-Hispanic blacks at 8.9 and Hispanics the lowest at 8.3, data from the National Vital Statistics System’s multiple cause of death files showed.
