All-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in western Alaska Native people: western Alaska Tribal Collaborative for Health (WATCH).
Available online from MWHC library: 1915 - present
CONCLUSIONS: We found lower rates for coronary heart disease death but high rates of stroke mortality. Death certificates overestimated CVD mortality; concordance between the 2 methods is better for cancer mortality. The results point to the importance of cohort studies in this population in providing data to assist in health care planning. METHODS: Data from 4 cohort studies were consolidated. Death certificates and medical records were reviewed and adjudicated according to standard criteria. We compared adjudicated CVD and cancer deaths with death certificates by calculating sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and statistics. OBJECTIVES: We determined all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer mortality in western Alaska Native people and examined agreement between death certificate information and adjudicated cause of deaths. RESULTS: Men (n = 2116) and women (n = 2453), aged 18 to 95 years, were followed an average of 6.7 years. The major cause of death in men was trauma (25%), followed by CVD (19%) and cancer (13%). The major cause of death in women was CVD (24%), followed by cancer (19%) and trauma (8%). Stroke rates in both genders were higher than those of US Whites. Only 56% of deaths classified as CVD by death certificate were classified as CVD by standard criteria; discordance was higher among men (55%) than women (32%; s = 0.4 and 0.7).
English
0090-0036
*Cardiovascular Diseases/eh [Ethnology] *Cardiovascular Diseases/mo [Mortality] *Mortality/eh [Ethnology] *Neoplasms/eh [Ethnology] *Neoplasms/mo [Mortality] Adolescent Adult Aged Aged, 80 and over Alaska/ep [Epidemiology] Cause of Death Female Health Surveys Humans Male Middle Aged Young Adult
MedStar Health Research Institute MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Medicine/General Internal Medicine
Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't