A demographic comparison between Caucasian and Native American communities in Cheboygan and Emmet Counties, 1850-present.

Demographic studies are typically used to evaluate the changes in a population relating to mortality, natality, and migration. For some human communities the conditions of the natural environment are not the only factors controlling demography. Secondary socioeconomic conditions often carry profound influence in populations that appear to share the same environment but differ in lifestyle. In Cheboygan and Emmet counties, the Native American community is considerably poorer than the Caucasian community, and these socioeconomic differences are projected in differing access to health care, risk taking behaviors, and general health. It was the aim of this study to investigate the effects of socioeconomic differences between Native Americans and Caucasians on overall life expectancy over three time increments (1850-1899, 1900-1949, 1950-1999). We observed an increase in life span and decrease in infant mortality through time for four subgroups of the populations (Caucasian male, Caucasian female, Native American male, and Native American female) of Cheboygan and Emmet Counties. In the most recent time period (1950-1999), the average life span of Caucasian women (72.9 years s.e. +-1.1) was determined to be greater than the average life span of Caucasian males (65.8 years s.e. +-1.1). This trend was not significant in the Native American sample. Caucasian women were found to have a significantly longer life span than Native American women during each time period. Caucasian men (53.6 years s.e. +- 2.4) significantly outlived Native American men (62.8 years s.e. +- 1.7) in the years between 1900 and 1949. These results suggest that socioeconomic differences may influence not only superficial life quality, but length of life as well.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/54858/1/3299.pdfDescription of 3299.pdf : Access restricted to on-site users at the U-M Biological Station