Hospitalizations for COVID-19 Among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults (≥ 18 Years Old) - New Mexico, March-September 2020.

To assess the presence of racial disparity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) sought to compare the case rate and risk of hospitalization between persons of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) race and persons of other races in New Mexico from March 1 through September 30, 2020. Using NMDOH COVID-19 surveillance data, age-standardized COVID-19 case and hospitalization risks were compared between adults (≥ 18 years old) of AI/AN and other races. We compared age, sex, and comorbidities between hospitalized adults of AI/AN and other races. Among AI/AN persons, age-standardized COVID-19 case and hospitalization risks were 3.7 (95% CI 3.6-3.8) and 10.5 (95% CI 9.8-11.2) times as high as persons of other races. Hospitalized AI/AN patients had higher proportions of diabetes mellitus (48% vs. 33%, P < 0.0001) and chronic liver disease (8% vs. 5%, P = 0.0004) compared to hospitalized patients of other races. AI/AN populations have disproportionately higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization compared to other races in New Mexico. By identifying etiologic factors that contribute to inequity, public health partners can implement culturally appropriate health interventions to mitigate disease severity within AI/AN communities.

Characteristics of Persons With Secondary Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 ≥90 days After First Detection, New Mexico 2020.

The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) conducted a matched case-control study to compare 315 persons (cases) with and 945 persons (controls) without severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) secondary detection (ie, positive SARS-CoV-2 test ≥90 days after first detection as of December 10, 2020). Compared with controls, cases had greater odds of higher SARS-CoV-2 testing frequency (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.2), being female (aOR = 1.6), being non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (aOR = 2.3), having diabetes mellitus (aOR = 1.8), and residing and/or working in detention and/or correctional facilities (aOR = 4.7). Diagnostic tools evaluating infectiousness at secondary detection are urgently needed to inform infection control practices.

Social Support and Its Effects on Attempted Suicide Among American Indian/Alaska Native Youth in New Mexico.

Objective:How social support (SS) affects the odds of suicide attempt among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth in New Mexico and is modified by school location and metropolitan status.Methods:Multiple logistic regression for complex design was used to produce the adjusted odds of suicide attempt by SS using the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (NM-YRRS) for 2011 (n = 2,730), 2013 (n = 3,171), and 2015 (n = 2,604) while adjusting for age, grade, gender, and maternal education level. Primary outcome: [Formula: see text]one self-reported suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Primary exposure: social support, categorized as low, moderate, and high support. Additional analysis on the 2015 NM-YRRS to understand how SS and the odds of suicide attempt were modified by (a) school location and (b) metropolitan status while adjusting for age, grade, gender, maternal education level, urbanicity, reservation status, unstable housing, forced sexual intercourse, and teen dating violence (n = 1,373).Results:The adjusted odds of suicide attempt among AI/AN students with low support compared to those with high support has declined from 2011 to 2015 (AOR= 5.5, 95% CI 3.3-9.6, in 2011; AOR= 2.2, 95% CI 1.3-3.7, in 2015). Low SS is a significant risk factor for rural/on reservation students. In contrast, low SS was not a risk factor for AI/AN students who attended schools in urban counties.Conclusion:Results address a gap in current research regarding differences in urban/rural AI/AN youth. In addition to SS, this study indicates there are unknown risk factors that drive suicide attempt for AI/AN youth in off reservation/urban schools.