The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 127 No. 10 October 1997, pp. 2128S-2133S
Copyright ©1997 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences

The Health of Navajo Women: Findings from the Navajo Health and Nutrition Survey, 1991-1992

Karen F. Strauss^*, , Ali Mokdad, Carol Ballew, James M. Mendlein, Julie C. Will, Howard I. Goldberg^**, Linda White, and Mary K. Serdula

^* Nutrition and Dietetics Section, Indian Health Service, Rockville, MD 20857;  Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724; ^** Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Reproductive Health; and  Kayenta Service Unit, Navajo Area Indian Health Service, Kayenta, AZ 86033

Cancer-screening behaviors, reproductive history, risk behaviors during pregnancy and chronic disease risk factors were examined in a representative sample of 566 Navajo women residing on the Navajo Reservation in 1991-1992. Among all women 15 y and older, 59% were overweight, 4% were current smokers, 10% currently used smokeless tobacco and 12% were anemic. Seventy-one percent of Navajo women aged 18 and older reported ever having had a Pap smear, but only 35% of women aged 50 and over reported ever having had a mammogram. Among parous women, the prevalence of having received no prenatal care for any pregnancy declined from 60% among women 60 and older to 13% among women 20-29 y of age, and the prevalence of ever having had a child born at home declined from 82 to 2%. These data suggest marked secular improvement in these pregnancy-related risk behaviors. However, data on cancer-screening behaviors indicate opportunities to improve health of Navajo women by increasing their use of mammography and Pap smear screening services.