The three projects would evaluate physical and mental health, morbidity and mortality among the Navajo as impacted by half a century of intensive social and economic change. 1. A study of life style effects on cardiovascular health would compare matched pairs of Navajo siblings born between 1930 and 1949 in which members of a sibling pair differ in educational attainment, current occupational status and employment history. Computer analysis of the data will determine differential effects in the cohorts of sibling pairs of the independent variables of educational history factors, employment history factors and activity/exercise levels on the dependent variables of height/weight relationship, skin fold thickness, diastolic and systolic blood pressures, pulse rate, vital capacity and health events of cardiovascular significance. Analysis of variance will be utilized to determine the relative importance of the various life-style factors in contributing to the differential health status between those two cohort populations. (ERG) 2. Analyses for lead-210 and radium-226 in dentin of Navajo teeth would provide an index to individual environmental and/or occupational radiation exposures. The dentin retains both radioisotopes, each continuing to deposit pulpward for the life of the tooth, with recent intake represented adjacent to the pulp cavity. Lead-210 concentration represents intake of lead-210, radon-222 and the radon daughters (as from mine air, mill tailings and waste dumps). Analyses of variance will be utilized to determine the correlation of lead-210 and radium-226 in dentin with the personal history of radiation exposure in selected cases. (LMS) 3. The public health impacts of relocation and other life-style changes caused by mining and other development projects on the Navajo reservation would be assessed through an approach which combines ethnographic and epidemiologic data and methodology. Public health and police data will be identified for impacted areas. Interviews with a number of impacted families will provide local perceptions and medical decision-models which will in turn guide the statistical analysis of the public health data. Correlations will be made between type of community and public health variables, along with multivariate analysis of incidence patterns. Such systematic information aids local and national planning and policy formation to mitigate adverse effects of development. (MCB)
| Shields, L M; Wiese, W H; Skipper, B J et al. (1992) Navajo birth outcomes in the Shiprock uranium mining area. Health Phys 63:542-51 |
