Native Americans Are Sicker, Die Younger, Report Says

Native Americans are sicker and do not live as long as the rest of the country's population, according to a new study presented to Congress on July 10, the AP/Santa Fe New Mexican reports. The report, which was compiled by the University of North Dakota Medical School's National Resource Center on Native American Aging, examined data from a health survey of 8,560 Native Americans belonging to 83 different tribes. Researchers found that elderly Native Americans are 48.7% more likely to have congestive heart failure than other seniors, 44.3% more likely to have asthma and 173% more likely to have diabetes. Average life expectancy was as low as age 64 for Native Americans living in the Great Plains. The report concluded that Native Americans have poorer health than others in part because they lack tribal health care facilities and have "spotty diets" that include high levels of fat and sugar. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), co-chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said that in light of the study, the Indian Health Service should receive greater funding to pay for more tribal clinics, hospitals and wellness centers. But Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), also a committee co-chair, said that some of Native Americans' health problems could be solved by creating more jobs on tribal land. He added, "We need to go back and address the underlying problems that got us here. We've got to recognize there is a lifestyle problem" (AP/Santa Fe New Mexican, 7/11).