title: Risks to health among American Indian/Alaska Native high school students in the United States.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  According to the World Health Organization, the 10 leading risk factor causes of death in high-income countries are tobacco use, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood glucose, high cholesterol, low fruit and vegetable intake, urban air pollution, alcohol use, and occupational risks. We examined the prevalence of some of the leading risks to health among nationally representative samples of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) high school students and compared rates across racial/ethnic groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  We combined data from the 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey is a biennial, self-administered, school-based survey of 9th- through 12th-grade students in the United States. Overall response rates for the surveys ranged from 63% to 72%. Of 73,183 participants, 952 were AI/AN students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For 7 of the 16 variables examined in this study, the prevalence among AI/AN high school students was higher than the prevalence among white high school students. For 1 variable (ate fruit and vegetables <5 times per day), the prevalence among AI/AN students was significantly lower than that among white students. The prevalence for the remaining 8 variables was similar among AI/AN students and white students. These findings also show differences in the prevalence of some behaviors among AI/AN, black, and Hispanic students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings show the prevalence of some health risk behaviors was significantly higher among AI/AN high school students than among high school students in other racial/ethnic groups.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30041, USA. sce2@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Sherry Everett
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Khadija
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lowry
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Conner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D004930:Inuit; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology*; D013334:Students