Increasing trend in the rate of infectious disease hospitalisations among Alaska Native people

Objectives. To examine the epidemiology of infectious disease (ID) hospitalisations among Alaska Native (AN) people. Methods. Hospitalisations with a first-listed ID diagnosis for American Indians and ANs residing in Alaska during 2001-2009 were selected from the Indian Health Service direct and contract health service inpatient data. ID hospitalisations to describe the general US population were selected from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Annual and average annual (2007-2009) hospitalization rates were calculated. Results. During 2007-2009, IDs accounted for 20% of hospitalisations among AN people. The 20072009 average annual age-adjusted ID hospitalisation rate (2126/100,000 persons) was higher than that for the general US population (1679/100,000; 95% CI 1639-1720). The ID hospitalisation rate for AN people increased from 2001 to 2009 (17%, p