Descriptive Epidemiology American Indian And Native...

Descriptive Epidemiology American Indian and Native Alaskan populations on reservations or in urban areas have had extreme difficulty with the use of Alcohol. An average of 43.9% of AI/AN adults reported using alcohol within the last month, which is considerably higher compared to the national average of 30.6%. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2011). Furthermore, 30% of American Indians reporting usage of alcohol within the last month also reported engaging in binge drinking episodes, which consist of consuming 5 or more alcoholic beverages in one sitting(SAMHSA, 2011); and this is considerably more than the national average of 24.6% (National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2014). Those who†¦show more content†¦Alcohol use is also seen to be greater in urban settings. The Lumbee Indian population, for example, shows a prevalence of 72.6%, while the rural population reports 45.7% (May 1996). This trend of substance abuse among American Indians has not changed greatly since 1975 when research looking at these populations began (Beauvais, 1998). Alcohol abuse has been historically prevalent among American Natives, and has been a problem since its introduction by early European settlers. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3068262) Biology of the Disease (include any controversies in case definition) Across all addictions, there is a central theory as to how such an addiction can occur. The common mechanism of all addictive substances is the activation of the brain’s â€Å"reward system†, made up of dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain and their extensions to the limbic system (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272277/). This system is normally used in advancing evolutionary fitness promoting activity, such as sex, food, or social interactions (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272277/). In such normal natural behaviors, the reward system activity is relatively brief and weak. However, addictive substances abuse the system’s circuitry, causing