Demographic and epidemiologic transition among the Navajo Indians

Abstract

The theories of demographic transition and epidemiologic transition provide vehicles for the examination of Navajo fertility, mortality, and growth patterns. The Navajo population is found to be growing rapidly due to decreased mortality and fertility rates which have declined but remain twice as high as U.S. rates. Infectious diseases are now less important as a factor in mortality, but remain a problem larger than that in the overall United States. Rates of death from degenerative diseases have not yet become a great problem among the Navajo, but mortality from social pathology (accidents, alcoholism, suicide, homicide, and cirrhosis of the liver) is considerably higher than that in the general United States. Discussion of each of these specific behaviors and possible etiological factors are presented. In general, it can be said that the Navajo Indians represent a group which is in the transitional stage of both the demographic and epidemiologic transition, although some exceptions are noted.