Alaska Progress Report

Alaska has highest per capita gun death rate

According to the Violence Policy Center Alaska had the highest per capita rate of gun deaths in the country in 2008, the most recent year for which data was available (really?). Data is from the federal Centers for Disease Control:

"The analysis reveals that the five states with the highest per capita gun death rates were Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Wyoming. Each of these states had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate of 10.38 per 100,000 for 2008. Each state has lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates. By contrast, states with strong gun laws and low rates of gun ownership had far lower rates of firearm-related death. Ranking last in the nation for gun death was Hawaii, followed by Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York and New Jersey (tie)."

Alaska is listed as having a gun ownership rate of 60.6 percent with 20.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people. Hawaii had the lowest rate at 3.2 gun deaths, with a household gun ownership rate of 9.7 percent. What would be more informative would be to break the rate down by homicide, suicide and accidental. Suicide is the most common type of violent death in Alaska.

Violent death in Alaska, suicide most common

Grim statistics from the state: "The Alaska Violent Death Reporting System 2003-2008 Summary report provides a detailed summary of six years of data concerning all types of violent deaths collected by the Alaska Violent Death Reporting System."

• In 2003-2008, there were 1347 violent deaths in Alaska, accounting for 7% of all deaths in Alaska and a combined rate of 33.7 violent deaths per 100,000 persons.
• Suicide accounted for the highest rate of violent death (21.7 per 100,000 persons), followed by the combined rates for homicide/legal intervention (6.4 per 100,000 persons) and undetermined intent and unintentional firearm deaths (5.5 per 100,000 persons, respectively).
• Highest rates by age group were found among children aged <1 yearand adults aged 20-29 years (84.0 and 59.9 per 100,000 persons, respectively).

View the entire report for the gory breakdown. Also available, a new report on deaths from firearms: "From 2003–2008, firearm injury hospitalizations and deaths disproportionately affected males, Blacks, AI/AN people, and people living in the Northern and Southwest regions. Firearm injury death rates by intent were consistently highest for suicide, but this was not the case for hospitalization rates. A plausible explanation for this difference is that suicide attempts with a firearm are almost always fatal."

Alaska's death rate middle of the pack

Bad news: you will die at age 78.2. Unless you're female, in which case you'll probably hit 80, but if you're male, don't buy green bananas after age 75. That's just the way it is, according to the latest NCHS data brief, Deaths in the United States, 2009:

"Hawaii has the lowest age-adjusted death rate (619.8 deaths per 100,000 population) of all the states, 16.4 percent lower than the average rate for the United States (741.0). West Virginia had the highest state age-adjusted death rate in 2009, 28.2 percent higher than the average U.S. rate."

Alaska's rate was 754.3, slightly above the average US rate of 741.0 and in the middle quintile: "In general, states in the Southeast region have higher rates than those in other regions of the country. Louisiana, for example, is typical of the region and has an age-adjusted death rate of 887.5 deaths per 100,000 population. States in other regions of the country, such as Illinois in the Midwest (743.0 deaths per 100,000 population) and Oregon in the West (733.1 deaths per 100,000 population), have rates that are more comparable with the average U.S. rate."

Alaska ranks 30th on obesity, 2nd on breastfeeding

You gotta love a report titled, "F as in Fat." Published annually by the Trust for America's Health (burp!) the report ranks states on a number of obesity-related measures:

• 25.9% of Alaskans are obese, and 64.9% are overweight or obese compared to 68% nationwide.
• In Alaska 23.9% of men and 28.1% of women are obese.
• 5.9% of Alaskan adults have diabetes, tied with Colorado for the lowest rate.
• 22.8% of Alaskan adults are physically inactive, rank 33rd.
• 24.3% of Alaskans have hypertension, ranked 48th.

These are mixed numbers to be sure, and they vary considerably by race although the margin of error for the minority samples in Alaska are very high. Policies and programs are looked at as well, and Alaska is generally portrayed in the study as lacking most best-practice efforts to curb obesity and related health problems.

On a very positive note, the report says that although only 13.3% of mothers in America are breastfeeding through six months, in Alaska that rate was 23.7% in 2007, the second highest rate in the nation, just behind Oregon.

Aircraft crashes second leading cause of occupational death in Alaska

Sobering statistics from the CDC: "Aircraft crashes are the second leading cause of occupational deaths in Alaska; during the 1990s, a total of 108 fatal aviation crashes resulted in 155 occupational fatalities... During 2000--2010, a total of 90 occupational fatalities occurred as a result of 54 crashes, an average of five fatal aircraft crashes and eight fatalities per year.

"Among those crashes, 21 (39%) were associated with intended takeoffs or landings at landing sites not registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Fifteen crashes (28%) were associated with weather, including poor visibility, wind, and turbulence. In addition, 11 crashes (20%) resulted from pilots' loss of aircraft control; nine (17%) from pilots' failure to maintain clearance from terrain, water, or objects; and seven (13%) from engine, structure, or component failure. To reduce occupational fatalities resulting from aircraft crashes in the state, safety interventions should focus on providing weather and other flight information to increase pilots' situational awareness, maintaining pilot proficiency and decision-making abilities, and expanding the infrastructure used by pilots to fly by instruments."

Traffic deaths so far double those from last year

From the Alaska Department of Transportation: "There are more traffic deaths in July and August than any other month in Alaska. We’ve already seen more traffic fatalities this year than we have in several years and we are concerned.  We are losing too many Alaskans.  The sad part is that many of these deaths were 100% preventable. Choices with speed, alcohol and seatbelts played a role in many of these tragedies.

"2011 is shaping up to a record bad year. As of May 13th, Alaska has had 24 fatalities; almost double the number of deaths at this same time in 2010, 2009 or 2008.  Preliminary reports show that skidding, swerving, or sliding due to poor weather and road conditions were involved in 27% of the crashes, unsafe speed played a role in 23%, driver alcohol was suspected in 18%, and driver distraction was involved in 18%. Early reports show that eight occupants who died chose not to use their seatbelt. All fatal crashes have multiple factors, meaning a driver can be impaired, distracted, and driving in poor weather conditions that all contributed to their demise."

See the complete statistics from 2005 to 2011 at the DOTPF web site. The good news is that seat belt compliance is at 87%, up from 66% in 2002. DOTPF encourages Alaskans to report dangerous drivers immediately by calling 9-1-1.

Costs of deaths from motor vehicle crashes

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control shows that the costs of deaths from motor vehicle crashes in Alaska was $74 million in 2005 (is that really the most recent data?). Only half a million of that was in medical costs, the rest in work loss costs.

Nationally motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of children, teens and young adults. Costs broken out by type of road user:

• Motor vehicle occupants: 29%
• Motorcyclists: 3%
• Bicyclists: 5%
• Pedestrians: 15%
• Unspecified/other: 48%

The CDC recommends two evidence-based strategies: a comprehensive graduated drivers license and a motorcycle helmet law. Looking at the three other states in our region, on a per-capita basis Alaska's costs were equal to Washington and lower than Idaho and Oregon.

Alaska ranked last for sensible gun laws, third for gun violence

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: "Arizona, Alaska and Utah do not have a single sensible gun law on their books." The three states were awarded zero points out of a possible 100 in the ranking, while California came in first with 80. In a state where the difference between a conservative and a liberal is that a liberal carries a .40 caliber or smaller, that's not a surprise.

The detailed state scorecard shows that we were awarded 2 points for not allowing guns on campus, but two points were deducted for not requiring a concealed carry permit. The Kaiser Foundation ranked Alaska third among states for the rate of gun deaths in 2007, with a rate of 17.8 per 100,000 population. The Violence Policy Center claims that gun deaths are closely correlated with gun ownership, and Alaska's household gun ownership that year exceeded 60 percent, at or near the top.

A rate of 17.8 for a populaton of about 700,000 means a total of about 125 gun deaths that year. For a small population like ours, the rate will probably vary significantly by year. This was also four years ago; it would be interesting to see more recent data, if it exists.

Work-related fatalities decrease, mostly water and air

The latest Epidemiology Bulletin focuses on work-related fatalities: "Although Alaska has consistently had one of the highest work-related fatality rates in the nation, from 1990–1999, there was a 49% decline in work related deaths. Several state and federal government agencies, industry, and nonprofit organizations worked together to achieve this success. Using work-related fatality data, these partners identified hazards, and developed and implemented interventions to address them. Examples of such interventions include policy changes, engineering controls, education/training, and the use of personal protective equipment."

In Alaska more than half of 379 work-related fatalities in the period 2000-2009 occurred on the water (34%) or in the air (23%), "...while in the U.S. overall, these types of transportation events accounted for only 5% and 9% of transportation fatalities, respectively.

"Interventions developed in Alaska since 2000 include stability checks for the Bering Sea crab fleet, and the Capstone program to improve pilots’ situational awareness. Progress has been made, but fatality rates continue to be high, so further safety interventions are needed to combat the unique high-risk occupational hazards found in Alaska."

Drowning is leading cause of death for Alaskan kids age 5 to 9

From the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services: The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is placing special emphasis on safety during National Public Health Week, April 4–10. This year’s theme is Safety is No Accident. Unintentional injuries — such as motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury and falls — rank among the 10 leading causes of hospitalizations in Alaska.

A different aspect of injury prevention is highlighted each day throughout the week. For Friday, April 8, our focus is safety in the community — in particular, preventing drowning. Alaska has 10 times the national rate of drowning. Drowning is the fourth highest cause of unintentional fatalities in Alaska, and No. 1 for kids ages 5 to 9.

• Most fatalities occur from accidents in open skiffs or canoes.
• Over half of Alaska drownings occur on lakes and rivers.
• Over 90 percent of fatality victims were not wearing a lifejacket (PFD/Personal Flotation Device).
• On average, three children die every day as of a result of drowning in the United States.
• Between 2000 and 2009, 52 Alaskans under age 15 drowned.
• The Kids Don’t Float PFD (personal flotation device) loaner program started in Homer in 1996 and now has 488 loaner sites statewide.

At least 19 lives have been saved since the Kids Don’t Float program went statewide in 1997. For more information visit the Kids Don’t Float program.