Cocaine smokers and injection drug users in Alaska: what distinguishes Native Americans from non-Native Americans?

Int J Circumpolar Health. 1998:57 Suppl 1:474-81.

Abstract

Demographic and behavioral characteristics were modeled for distinguishing Native American drug users from non-Native American drug users in Anchorage, Alaska. Data were collected using a structured interview administered to participants (n = 1,091) who smoked cocaine, injected drugs, or both. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression modeling. Four characteristics distinguish Native Americans (n = 223) from non-Native Americans (n = 868). Native Americans were more likely to have used marijuana at an earlier age and to have less than high school education; they were less likely to have ever used heroin and cocaine together, and to have used a condom during sex. Results are useful for administering interventions, data collection, and targeting hidden populations.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Alaska / epidemiology
  • Arctic Regions / epidemiology
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Child
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / epidemiology
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / ethnology*
  • Female
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Indians, North American / statistics & numerical data*
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Distribution
  • Smoking / ethnology
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / epidemiology
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / ethnology*