# Neural Basis of alcohol/substance use disorders and suicide in American Indians

> **NIH NIH R01** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 2020 · $583,036

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Suicide is an important mental health problem but nowhere is this problem more striking and extreme as it is in
American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and First Nations (FN) people. Although suicide rates vary among AI/AN
communities, rates in some communities are almost 10 times the national average. Additionally, U.S. epidemiological
studies demonstrate that compared with other U.S. ethnic groups, AI/AN teens and adults have the highest rates of alcohol
use disorders (AUDs), that are associated with significant disability and mortality. Thus, studies identifying the risk
factors and psychopathological mechanisms for suicide risk and substance use disorders in AI/AN teens and adults are
needed to address the substantial health disparities experienced by AI/AN. Yet comprehensive evidence-based studies of
suicide risk and AUDs, especially those that include biological measures, are completely lacking in AI/AN and FN
people. The overall objective of this research plan is to identify neural mechanisms, as well as individual and community
risk factors for alcohol and other substance use disorders and suicidal behaviors (SB) in a community sample of American
Indians (AI) residing on rural reservations. Our previous studies have documented a high lifetime prevalence of moderate
and severe alcohol use disorders (AUD) (45%) in this group, and have recently identified an excess of suicidal behaviors
(>15% attempted) in AI adults. Our data set is unique in that it includes extensive clinical data, psychosocial measures,
sleep, electrophysiology and whole genome sequencing data. Using this rich data set we propose to determine whether
this group of AI have distal and proximal risk factors and biomarkers (electrophysiological and genetic), that are similar to
general population samples described in the literature, or have unique determinants for SB. Since living on a reservation
may add particularly unique risk factors for SB in AI we also propose to use state of the art geocoding methodology to
obtain new community based data on risk factors for SB. Unique to our approach is our emphasis on the role that high
levels of alcohol use and AUDs play in inducing depressive symptomatology, combined with unique environmental
conditions on reservations, as critical factors in driving SB. We additionally propose to collect new longitudinal data to
follow up on SB over the life span. Finally, we will use data from the existing and expanded cross-sectional cohort studies
of teens and adults as well as the new longitudinal retrospective multi-cohort studies to develop comprehensive bio-
psychosocial models of AUD and SB. The proposed analyses have the possibility of uncovering important risk and
protective factors for SB in this unique high-risk population of AI, as well as identifying developmentally-relevant points
of prevention and intervention to reduce the negative impacts of AUD and SB in adolescence and adulthood.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9863977
- **Project number:** 5R01AA027316-02
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** CINDY L EHLERS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $583,036
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-05 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9863977

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9863977, Neural Basis of alcohol/substance use disorders and suicide in American Indians (5R01AA027316-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9863977. Licensed CC0.

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