Occupational and environmental exposures among Alaska Native and American Indian people living in Alaska and the Southwest United States

J Environ Health. 2012 May;74(9):22-8.

Abstract

Most occupational and environmental research describes associations between specific occupational and environmental hazards and health outcomes, with little information available on population-level exposure, especially among unique subpopulations. The authors describe the prevalence of self-reported lifetime exposure to nine occupational and environmental hazards among 11,326 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults enrolled in the Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) Study in the Southwest U.S. and Alaska. The top three hazards experienced by AI/AN people in Alaska were petroleum products, military chemicals, and asbestos. The top three hazards experienced by AI/AN living in the Southwest U.S. were pesticides, petroleum, and welding/silversmithing. The study described here found that male sex, lower educational attainment, AI/AN language use, and living in the Southwest U.S. (vs. Alaska) were all associated with an increased likelihood of hazard exposure. The authors' study provides baseline data to facilitate future exposure-response analyses. Future studies should measure dose and duration as well as environmental hazards that occur in community settings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alaska / epidemiology
  • Asbestos / poisoning
  • Chemical Hazard Release / statistics & numerical data
  • Environmental Exposure / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Hazardous Substances / poisoning*
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Occupational Exposure / statistics & numerical data*
  • Pesticides / poisoning
  • Petroleum / toxicity
  • Silver
  • Southwestern United States / epidemiology
  • Welding
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Hazardous Substances
  • Pesticides
  • Petroleum
  • Asbestos
  • Silver