A new report from the University of Alaska Anchorage examines the underlying causes of death in the top 10 killers in the state. The researchers found that addictions and substance abuse play a role in nine of the state’s top 10 causes of death. Poor nutrition and exposure to harmful pollution are the next most significant factors in deaths in Alaska.
The researchers believe that serious health conditions are rooted in other problems that can often be fixed before they result in deaths. David Driscoll, UAA professor of health sciences and director of the university’s Institute for Circumpolar Studies, wrote the report with Bruce Dotterer, a ICS associate. The report collaborates research on seven underlying causes of death in the entire circumpolar region, from Greenland and Iceland to Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Scandinavian countries.
Driscoll and Dotterer incorporated data from 52 other studies. Besides addiction, diet and pollution, the researchers connect causes of death to social isolation, access to clean water, global climate change and access to quality health care.
Addictions are implicated in each of the top 10 causes of death in Alaska, except in Alzheimer’s disease. Smoking is linked to cancer. A history of substance abuse is associated with suicide. And drinking excess amounts of alcohol is linked to diabetes.
The report was the first of its kind on the subject.
